#( I tried to mirror these as best as I could to the events in Zelda's and the other champion's diaries! c: ) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

hylian-champion · 3 years

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Link’s Letters, the last Champion’s Diary

The first few entries are old / posted before but I decided to post them all together in one place anyway!!

Aryll,

I know I haven’t been able to see you for a while. I hope this letter makes up for it. People look at me differently lately. They treat me differently too. But I don’t feel any different. Am I different to you too? … Is it because of that sword?

They say I’m the reincarnation of the hero of legend. As such, it is my duty to fight and win against the beast that threatens Hyrule.

That hero… he was said to have tremendous courage. He must have in order to face such a terrible demon. If that’s the case, I don’t feel like a hero either. But I’ll try. I’ll keep up a brave face for everyone’s sake. Though, honestly, I’m terrified…

P.S. Don’t tell dad I said that.

I met the BIGGEST Goron today. Though I can’t tell what’s bigger: him or his appetite. I never knew Gorons ate rocks either. Weird. He offered me to try something called ‘rock roast’ which is apparently a local delicacy on Death Mountain. It’s… crunchy.

Daruk is a very warm and friendly soul. It feels like you could have known him for ages when you’ve only just met. I really like him, and the Gorons in general. They’re pretty straightforward people. Incredibly strong too. Daruk seems to think I’ve got Goron-like strength as well. Maybe if I eat more rocks I could be as strong as him one day.

It’s been so long since I last saw Lady Mipha. I heard that she was the one chosen to pilot Divine Beast Vah Ruta. To imagine her on the front lines of this battle… I was hoping to talk her out of it.

When I arrived she told me about a Lynel on Polymus Mountain that has been terrorizing the Zora with its shock arrows. If you didn’t already know, those arrows can be deadly to the Zora. So I set off straight away to deal with it but Mipha… she followed me. Despite how dangerous I insisted it was, she wouldn’t turn back and we argued. I never knew she could raise her voice like that. The Lynel must have heard us and got the jump on us from behind. I took an arrow or two to the back though I didn’t actually feel it until after the monster was long gone. I’m alright, though, don’t worry.

Having Mipha there… her support means a lot to me. I don’t know what I’d do without her.

Today we have all been formally appointed as Champions. After the ceremony, I wanted to see those relics—the Guardians—up close. They’re meant to help us in our fight against Ganon, and… I have to say I’m glad they’re on our side. One of the ancient machines went out of control and started shooting a deadly beam at anyone who came close to it. I only had a pot lid to reflect its attack, but it worked!

The king saw what happened and wanted to have a word with me. I thought he was upset because I broke one of the relics meant to save us…

As if being a Champion wasn’t enough, it seems your brother is now the princess’s appointed knight.

I should feel proud, shouldn’t I? It’s a great honor…

The princess and I have arrived at Rito Village. I bet you would love the Rito. They resemble birds, though I don’t think they bear any relation to your cuccos. It may be rude to ask.

Oh, but I did get to talk to the Rito Champion, Revali. Or… more like he talked to me and flew off. I can’t help but feel he looks down on me for some reason. Maybe it’s because of his height. Or that he spends a lot of time in the sky. You would have no choice but to look down on people from up there.

If I were up there, I would never look down. For the most part because I’d just get terribly dizzy from the view. Do you remember when one of your birds got itself stuck on top of that old flagpole? I never want to climb anything like that again for as long as I live.

We set out for Goron City today. The princess is intending to help Daruk with his control over Divine Beast Vah Rudania. It’s really quite admirable how determined she is. When she sets her mind to something she’s so focused on it, it’s like I’m not even there… Or, rather I get the feeling she wishes I wasn’t. Maybe I’m overthinking it?

Still, the first time she addressed me, she wanted to know about the sword. Of course. The old legends say there is a voice that’s supposed to guide the chosen hero. She asked if I could hear it. I didn’t know what to tell her. So I said nothing. But I imagine she already knew the answer… She must despise me.

It was nice to see Daruk again. I wanted to ask him for some advice about… you know. Turns out he needed some help too. His control over his Divine Beast has been a little… rocky. Honestly how can a big guy like that be so hesitant? All he needed was a little push to get the boulder rolling. Now, his handle over Rudania is rock solid.

By the way, the postman can’t carry a whole rock roast all the way to Hateno for you. I asked. But I got you another Goron specialty: Goron Spice! Try it with some Hylian Rice and Goat Butter. It’s delicious!

I always had the feeling that the princess hated me, I just never realized how much she did. I don’t know what to do. She does everything she can to get away from me, even travel alone despite the dangers. She’s made it very clear that she does not want my company, and yet it’s still my job to protect her. I can’t disappoint the King.

But… I can’t stand being the reason she’d put herself in danger in the first place. I guess I can’t do anything right.

I can’t ask Lady Urbosa for help. I mean, you make a very good point, Aryll. But what do I tell the longtime friend of the Royal Family? ‘I lost the princess… again!’ She’s way too smart for me to keep up. She does everything in her power to avoid me. And, worse, she’s really good at it.

Though, I suppose if she keeps abusing Gerudo Town’s laws to separate us, the one person who has any way to address it is the Chief of the Gerudo…

I hate when you’re right.

It’s been days. I’ve searched every corner of this desert for the princess. Lady Urbosa said if she saw her she’d send word immediately. I get the feeling she knows exactly where she is. At least I hope so. The Yiga Clan has been all too active lately. But if she stays with Urbosa, then I know she’ll be safe. I just have to trust her.

Until then, I’ll stay close by at the Bazaar to keep an eye on things.

That reminds me I got you something. There’s a lady in Gerudo Town who makes all kinds of jewelry from circlets to earrings to pendants—don’t ask me how I got it—but I hope you like it.

Urbosa sent word last night that she’d found the princess but today, just like that, she was gone again in an instant. By the time I caught up to her I was almost too late.

She’s safe, now. A little shaken up, I think, but unharmed. Though this all started because she tries so hard to avoid me. I think… Tomorrow I should tell her… If she would rather have another knight accompany her, then I will send in my resignation to the King. Regardless of the shame and disappointment that will come with it. If my job is to protect her, then I have no other choice than to leave. She should be a lot happier with whoever ends up my replacement. Less inclined to run away too.

She… apologized… for everything. I think I get it. The princess carries such a heavy burden, and she does it with her head held high. She’s working harder than all of us to stay ahead of this prophecy. She’s so brave. I wish I could be more like her in that regard.

I could fight anything from lynels to hoards of moblins, but when it comes to… speaking… There’s so much I want to tell her. I’ve made up my mind, I’m going to try.

P.S. Maybe I should offer to cook for her? I could make her grandma’s famous pumpkin stew! Do you think she’d like it?

Zelda is staying at the Castle today to further her studies. With the whole royal guard there, she granted me some time off. This time I know it’s not just to get rid of me. I’ll be home soon, but I hope you don’t mind… I made a quick stop at Zora’s Domain to see Mipha. She took a look at that scar from the attack on Death Mountain and healed it right up.

Out of the blue, she started telling me about the namesake of Divine Beast Vah Ruta. Apparently it’s named after a Zora princess and one of the legendary sages from an age far older than the Great Calamity. Legend has it she fell in love with the Hylian hero of that time.

Do you think my past life married a princess? I can’t imagine.

We got caught in a rainstorm by Lake Hylia.

I’ll be honest. I used to hate this destiny stuff. But… sharing it with Zelda the Princess isn’t so bad. As long as we have each other, we can face anything.

By the way… How is father doing?

Is it wrong to butt heads with the King? I guess that’s a very stupid question. Of course it is. It isn’t my place to interfere and yet… You have no idea how much I wanted to say something today. To stand up and tell him he’s wrong.

Can they throw a Champion– a “hero of legend” in jail for speaking out of turn? I don’t know why that should even stopped me. I really am just too much of a coward.

It’ll be Zelda’s birthday in a couple days. She’s working harder than ever to unlock this sealing ability. The day she turns 17 she’s heading straight for Mount Lanayru without even a moment’s rest.

That’s right, you’re coming to Castle Town with father, aren’t you? It’s a national holiday, but the one person who doesn’t get the time off to enjoy it is the one who needs it most. Maybe meeting you will cheer her up before we head out to the Spring of Wisdom. I’m counting on you! I’ll see you soon.

Love, Link

#▲; side quests ( drabbles )#( I tried to mirror these as best as I could to the events in Zelda's and the other champion's diaries! c: )

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jq37 · 3 years

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The Report Card – Fantasy High: The Seven Ep 8

Fight for Your Right to Party

Welcome back to this fight, already in progress where TK just DIED. So, you know, we have to deal with that. This is largely a battle episode as was last ep but more plot relevant stuff happens so I’m gonna hit all of the important story beats.

Yelle drinks the fly potion she got earlier and grabs TK’s body to fly her to Ost. Jana (Katja’s absentee mother who just landed the finishing blow on TK) grabs a palimpsest and swings at Yelle but Yelle shrugs it off and keeps going.

Zelda (at Penny’s behest) stuffs Lysander (her shoe-shining makeout partner) into a suit of armor while Katja squares off with her mother.

“Jana, nice to meet you I guess,” Katja says, full of teenage sarcasm.

“I’m at work,” Jana replies, absolutely setting Kat off.

She rolls her attacks, one of them being a Nat 20, uses her new axe to shatter the palimpsest in her hand and doing a whopping 99 points of damage. That doesn’t kill her BUT her last attack is a shove attack, dropping her from the balcony and forcing her to take 10d6 falling damage. That makes it 130 total points of damage meaning Katja killed her mom IN ONE ROUND.

Handshake Meme: Adaine Abernant, Katja Cleaver, Fucking obliterating your shitty parent.

While fighting is happening, Antiope suspects the Jester of being Charity so she says Charity’s name. The Jester reacts a bit and Antiope finally nails their last mirror image.

Sam (who was briefly a giant swan which I neglected to mention because in the grand scheme of things? Frankly, a footnote) gets an Eldritch Blast off on the Jester then uses Thunderstep to help get Ost out of one of the goo monsters.

Also, speaking of Charity from two paragraphs back, she pops up behind Antiope and STABS HER, fully dropping her. OR, she WOULD have dropped her if she didn’t have the Alert feat, negating her sneak attack damage and leaving her up with EIGHT HP. You simply love to see it.

(Also, oh no, who could have guessed that the big government organization in a story written by Brennan Lee Mulligan would actually turn out to be shady and not good aligned? Shock. Horror.)

Ost Revivifies TK and, as she does, she hears an unfamiliar male voice say, “There are no things in this world that are so broken they cannot be mended.” Hmmm. Maybe not an entirely absentee god after all.

This isn’t plot relevant but I simply have to quote Aabria who has the funniest line in the whole episode when TK wakes up. “Out here looking like a Dora fucking Milaje. Yibambe! Do something!”

Do something she does, trapping the Jester in a wall of force with an assist from Sam who counters the jester’s Counterspell.

One of Yelle’s pixies then polymorphs Ant into something with more HP than her meager 8 HP, an event that was frankly inevitable in hindsight. Ant turns into a dragon. Yelle also casts Blight on Charity for 44 points of damage because she’s a beast in the less literal sense.

Ant, making the best use of her new form even as she has mixed feelings about it, suplexes Charity off the balcony for 34 points of damage but lets her go to try for a tail attack which she doesn’t land. Charity gets up and says, “I always hoped to kill a Jones. And maybe my day will come soon.” Then, she’s beamed out. As she beams out, Antiope realizes that Charity stole the Legendarium off of her before she was turned into a dragon and she failed the check to notice.

Penny gets TK to drop the barrier around the Jester and she stabs him in the back with her rapier, for 27 points of damage. The Jester super fails to keep concentration on the spell animating the monsters and they all dissolve.

The Jester still has some fight left and tries to get a Disintegrate spell off on TK but TK counters it and then hits him with a Disintegrate of her own. As it hits and his clothes dissolves, a tattoo of horses pulling a chariot is briefly seen. It’s Preston.

(��Who could have known the cop was a cop,” says Aabria.)

Fight over, TK hails the Maidens and gets the party started again. The pixies go to strap bombs on this billionaire ship because, of course.

They’ve lost the Legendarium but, luckily, Yelle thought to make them copies and those are still functional. On a 23, Ant realizes something is happening in the Necrinomikron which is an area of Spyre associated with death. They decide to get the party ship to sail that way so they can get their party on but still stay on mission. Then, having learned that her potential employers are evil, Ant texts her, “I’m in” to the group.

“Are you really in?” Sam asks, achingly hopeful.

“Yeah,” Ant says, and Sam gives her a big hug.

Sam jokes (or half-jokes), “Now all we need is Penny,” and Ant stops her in her tracks. She CAN’T do this again. Even as a joke. “I love you,” she says, but she absolutely cannot. Ant hugs her again but Sam doesn’t return the hug.

Yelle gives everyone the hearts she made for them a bit back and Ost is inspired to call her dad. She tells her dad she loves him and they have a genuinely touching moment (“What’s wrong with you?”/”Nothing anymore.”) that she abruptly ends when he mentions that he and her mom are thinking about selling the house. Let’s not get crazy Mr. Wallace. Your daughter can only handle so much Real Talk at a time.

Penny emails her family to fill them in on what she’s doing then pulls Lysander into a closet to tastefully fade to black. Likewise, Antiope is feeling not so cold to dragons as she once was and finds the nearest dragonborn to get over her crush on Preston (rolling a very dirty 20 on per Persuasion check).

(She gets to roll w/ advantage btw because dragons are her favored enemy and the implication that picking up boys and hunting dragons are equivalent activities had me dying.)

Kat calls her dad to tell him that she killed her mom and then, hilariously, Jana appears literally behind him because he’s in hell and she’s a shitty person so of course her soul ended up there. Her dad reveals that part of the reason he stopped being with Jana is that TK informed him that the Ministry of Adventure sometimes matchmade their agents with adventurers to kind of keep an eye on them and Jana was that for him. The internship Antiope was offered was a pipeline to that kind of work. When Jana left them it was because her cover was blown and she was “taken off his detail.” Brutal.

But hey! Good news. Her dad has been thinking a lot about his absentee parent thing and has talked it over with his party. He wants Kat to join up with them! Ost breaks the crystal upon hearing that. Then gives Kat her crystal to continue the call. Brennan makes Kat roll to remember her dad’s number and Sam just uses her mirror to get the info for her.

Kat says she can’t just leave her party. They’re like her sisters. Or her horses. Her dad seems a little taken aback but says they’ll discuss it later.

Meanwhile, Sam has gone onto the balcony to brood as she is wont to do and is joined by TK who seems to know what she’s thinking about and asks if she's noticed things are a bit strange, even by Spyre standards. Sam does. They talk a bit about death and change and Sam says she feels a kinship with Talura but doesn’t want to end up like her. TK says there’s no magic more potent than simply doing something new and Sam, who is a bit exhausted by TK’s riddle speak, says that she reminds her of Arthur Aguefort (which TK doesn’t take a s an insult).

And with the girls alternatively partying, making romantic connections, or brooding, we end the episode.

Superlatives

Katja: Most Like to Finish What She Starts

One round Katja???? One round of damage??? You killed your mom in one round of damage????? GIRL.

Random Thoughts

The episode gets its title because Kat has like a million mic drop lines she wants to use on her mom and, instead of picking just one, she just tries to say them all. My favorite being before she shoves her, “See you next fall. Actually, see you next Tuesday.”

Antiope has had a whole-ass arc re: dragons huh? Shot a dragon, became a dragon, and hooked up with a dragon(born) all in the same day. Lmao, exposure therapy.

I think Kat re: Jana “Can you reincarnate her into a good mom?”

Ant at Ost re: Sean, a guard who she thinks is maybe kinda cute doing minimal damage during the fight “That’s like zero fucking damage! Don’t get with Sean!”

Sigh, and Preston joins Grissini in the D20 pool of boys who *could* have been hot love interests if they weren’t government stooges.

So the trigger for the curse that turned the people into monsters was in Preston’s shirt, right? Why would it be there? I’m guessing it was supposed to be in the sweatshirt Ant refused so Brennan just had it be on the item of clothing she accepted. But logistically, how? I doubt everyone just has little devices on all their articles of clothing on the off chance you need to plant something on a girl who arrived at an interview in a sport’s bra. Maybe Charity sleight of handed it onto the shirt as a rogue?

“Cinnamon stop making it clap.”

Y’all, this is up a bit late and the last two recaps will be as well but I’m still getting them up because I’ve found that people often check out the backlog of these post-season, sometimes way after the fact so they’re still helpful. Thanks to everyone who checks these out, regardless of when!

In this ep, Kat rolled one nat 20 and one nat 1. Various non-Zelda NPCs rolled two nat 1s.

#dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #the seven #the seven spoilers

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zeldas-cigarette-holder · 3 years

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Ground Control to Major Tom

ao3

Faustus finally allowed himself to tear his gaze from Zelda’s face to look at the dog, felt his heart nearly stop when he realized that Satan, she had surely gone bloody batshit. It wasn’t a dog, the mere ghost of one — and poorly stuffed, at that.

I don’t truly know why I wrote this, but it ended up way sadder than I had ever expected a story about Zelda’s ugly stuffed dog to be. Tagging as spellwood, but there’s truly no shippy moments unless you read between the lines exceptionally well.

Enjoy xx

It had been ages since he had walked up to the mortuary, even longer since had seen her outside of any professional setting — perhaps decades, he mused to himself as he strolled up the long driveway.

The house looked the same as it had the last time he was there, just a few short months before the Spellman parents’ passing. He had gone to break the news of his engagement to Constance — left with his heart shattered at the shocked, tearful look in Zelda’s eyes. She so rarely showed emotion, it shook him to his core to see it. After that — the image of her mouth agape, eyes welled up with tears she refused to let fall, and the breathy little sound she let out as a response — he did his best to stay away under the guise of it being better for her.

Faustus skipped their parents' funeral, Edward’s wedding, Edward’s funeral, any non-church event held in the Spellman home — couldn't stomach seeing her again, the pain in her eyes. He knew it was cowardly, that he couldn’t manage to be there for the only person he had ever loved despite all of her pain and suffering. He couldn’t stand seeing that look in her eyes — so much pain and hurt and devastation — not when he wanted nothing more than to kiss her.

Truthfully, he wouldn’t have even considered going over if it weren’t for Hilda and her lilting voice, a hint of an accent he hadn’t recalled her having years ago when they last spoke.

But Zelda was alone with the girl — Sabrina — while Hilda was overseas with Ambrose for his trial.

His hand raised to the door, fingers barely brushing the cold metal knocker before the door was flung open, a curious little girl looking up at him. She was almost exactly half Edward and half Diana — face pinched like her mother’s, a fire in her eyes that rivaled her father’s. He found himself smiling warmly at the girl despite all of his hard edges and cool exterior, straightened his tie and felt suddenly small under her scrutinizing gaze.

“Are you the pizza man?” The little girl’s eyebrows were knit together in confusion, her lithe frame still shoved between the wall and the half opened door. “Where’s the pizza?”

“I’m… a friend.”

Why was this so awkward? She was a child, a half mortal child at that. He had sized up demons ten times his age, consorted with the council without the first shake of his hand, but this child had him in a cold sweat.

“Can I come inside?”

“No! What?” She scrunched her nose, hand scrubbing over her face in a way that was so Zelda-like it shocked him. “I don’t know you, you’re not my friend. Why should I let you in?”

Was he really going to argue with a child?

“I’m friends with Zelda.”

There was a long pause before the girl let out a peal of laughter. She pulled the door a little closer to her, obscuring his view from the inside of the house. Shame, as he was just able to squint down the long hallway.

“That’s how I know you’re a big fat liar. My Auntie Zee doesn’t have friends.”

The sound of heels clicking down the hallway distracted him from whatever witty retort he was going to throw back at the little girl. And her voice. Satan, it was like velvet to him — made his heart ache at how mature and weary she sounded compared to years past. He was almost surprised at how she had managed to completely ignore him for years — to filter in and duck out of Black Mass before he got a chance to speak to her — but Zelda was nothing if not as stubborn as a mule.

“Is that the pizza man? Damn it all to heaven, I’ve only got big bills…” Sabrina stepped back as Zelda flung the door open, wearing a look of exasperation that morphed to slack jawed shock. “Father Blackwood?”

She was as gorgeous as ever — possibly even more gorgeous now that he was looking at her closer and not fifty feet away, hiding in the back of the desecrated church. Faustus felt his heart race at the way she looked so effortlessly gorgeous — in a simple, loose black dress, a stark contrast to her severe wardrobe he usually saw her donning — one hand on the door and leaning against the doorframe.

“What are you doing here?”

“You missed Black Mass, Sister Zelda.”

It was a lie and they both knew it, but he couldn’t think fast with her looking down at him with that scowl that made his mouth go dry. It was the same scowl she wore as a younger witch, always looking down her nose at him in a poor attempt to hide what was glaringly obvious infatuation.

“I haven’t missed a service since…” She paused to think, pushed a stray piece of hair back into the bun that sat atop her head. “Since before you married Constance.”

It was bitter and more spiteful than she had any right being, but there was a self satisfied hint of a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips and a gleam in her eyes despite her uncouthness. She had been itching to say it since he broke the news of his proposal, and it felt so good that she would have kept hurling insults at him if it weren’t for the fact that he was the High Priest.

“Hilda sent you. I’m not a ninny, nor was I born yesterday.”

There was an awkward silence that fell over them, and Zelda wore an expression of smug righteousness. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to slap her or kiss her — tried in vain to keep his lips from twitching up in a bemused half smile and knew he was failing miserably.

“Who is that guy?”

“Sabrina.”

Zelda’s tone was admonishing and she wore a pinched scowl to match. It was almost comical to watch — Sabrina had grown into a near mirror image of Zelda herself, he knew that from his quiet observation of the little girl at church events, just as inquisitive as Zelda had been.

“I told you, I’m a friend.”

“And I told you that Auntie Zee doesn’t have friends.”

Faustus let out a loud, bellowing laugh at that, watched the way Zelda’s face contorted into a grimace to hide her embarrassment. She was exactly the same as she had been the last time they spoke, and yet nothing like her old self.

“Then I’m an old friend.”

“You surely are old. Like, what? Five hundred?”

“Sabrina.”

“What? He said he was old.” She paused, her face pouting in concentration in a way that was undoubtedly learned from her aunt. “Aren’t you going to invite him in? It’s proper.”

It was eerily silent as Zelda stood motionless at the door, her lips pursed into a thin line as she was clearly thinking about turning him away. He almost let her, if it wasn’t for the niggling curiosity at the back of his mind. How was she, really? Was she dating again? Was it anyone he knew?

After what felt like an eternity, she finally stepped away from the doorframe and silently opened the door a bit wider. For someone as big on manners and decorum as she was, Zelda surely didn’t act as such, and the thought made Faustus smirk to himself.

Same old Zelda but new somehow.

Sabrina tugged at the waist of her aunt’s dress and Faustus was shocked at how naturally maternal it was to watch her lift the little girl onto her hip — like she was born to be a mother. It made him wonder why — why she never wanted domesticity with him, why she never had kids, why the world was so unjust and cruel to someone as good as her.

“You can sit in Hilda’s chair.”

“No.” Sabrina’s voice was strong and unwavering, just as Zelda’s had been as a child. “Only Auntie Hilda sits in her chair. Your old friend can sit on that spot.”

She pointed towards the stiff side of the couch across the room, her little eyes narrowed in a near-perfect scowl — would have been perfect if she wasn’t smiling, but Faustus appreciated her feistiness nonetheless. Sabrina would certainly grow into a force to be reckoned with, like all of the Spellman siblings had been in their own way, and Faustus let himself smile at the way Zelda’s eyes nearly beamed with pride at her niece’s assertiveness.

“The house hasn’t changed at all.”

It was a poor attempt at small talk — something he had never been particularly good at —but it was the truth. The same bag of knitting sat on the table by Hilda’s chair, and Zelda’s end table was just as chaotically messy as it had been decades ago, a perfect reflection of her personality. It was a cluttered disaster of spilled ashes, loose napkins with her frenzied notes scrawled across them, precariously stacked books, and empty glasses nested in each other — so completely her that it was almost adorable.

“It’s changed a fair bit since… the incident. You’d know if you kept in touch.”

Zelda sat gingerly in her chair, eyes following Sabrina as she puttered around the room. She was steely and quiet, a challenging gleam to her eyes despite not knowing exactly what she wanted to know. Was she upset that he married Constance? Or was she more upset that he cared so little that when her brother passed — her Eddie, her protector, her everything — he didn’t even care enough to show up at the funeral and see if she was okay?

The question had nagged at her for years, swirling in the back of her mind when she got drunk and nostalgic — a rare occurrence now that she and Hilda had a child to care for — only let herself pull out the old photographs then, and tucked them away safely before her sober self could find them and cry.

“Auntie?”

“Yes, Sabrina?”

“Do you want Tommy?”

There was a hesitation in her eyes at the mention of her familiar, lips back to that tight pursed look that meant the walls were back up again. Faustus idly wondered if he would ever be able to tear them down again, to see her relaxed and smiling and happy.

“You could bring him in here, yes.”

“He’s still alive?”

Faustus’ familiar, though only slightly older, had passed decades ago. He wasn’t sure if he was more impressed with the goblin-turned-dog’s age, or the fact that he was so heaven bent on protecting Zelda that he had stayed around for this many years. Anubis, after several years of Faustus being decidedly less reckless than he had been in his youth, had finally decided it was time for him to pass on. He knew Zelda was reckless, but was that old beagle the only thing protecting her?

“He’s… he’s been around.”

Classic Zelda, he thought, talking herself in circles until he felt like the dumbest person in the room. She had always been good at evading questions like that, a master of building walls so high no one could see over them. It was something she had to have learned from her parents, he had decided over the years, because Edward had been the same way.

“How old is he now? Satan, he’s nearly the same age as Anubis and he passed when? Thirty years ago?”

“He’s old.”

“Just old?”

“Very old. Is that better, Father Blackwood?” Her nostrils flared in annoyance, hand scrubbing over her face in the same anxious habit she had held in her youth. “Why do you care so much about my familiar?”

He couldn’t answer that question, only leaned back and raised his eyebrow.

“He’s heavy. What are you feeding him? Bricks? Stones?”

Zelda let out a puff of laughter when Sabrina came back into the room, pulling the dog from her niece’s grasp and settling him safely at her side. She stroked at his head, fingers moving deftly as though it was unconscious, the grimace slipping from her face and giving way to a relaxed, easy smile.

“Bacon. And stuffing.”

They both laughed as though they were conspiring about something, Sabrina’s eyes pointedly on Faustus in a way that made him feel smaller than he actually was. If the girl were to end up at the academy, he would surely be in trouble, the spitting image of Zelda Spellman reincarnated into a tiny blonde body.

The dog had never been particularly cute in his prime, always awkward and clambering around with too big paws and too long ears, but there was something about him that had never failed to make Zelda smile that big, unrestrained grin Faustus loved so much. But this poor reincarnation of Vinegar Tom? The poor thing was downright disgusting.

His face was stretched too tight, body lumpy in some areas and sagging in others, and his ears were nearly bare of fur. Surely Zelda had to know that this wasn’t Vinegar Tom — more likely a poorly done art project by Sabrina, if he had to guess — and yet she was worrying his ear between her fingers and cooing as though he was still a pup.

“Zelda… is he alive?”

“Well he’s not dead, Faustus.” She was indignant, eyebrows knit together as she looked down at her familiar. “He thinks you’re dead. What a rude guest, isn’t he, Tommy Boy?”

Faustus wasn’t sure if he was horrified or amused— decided to go with a mixture of both, tried his best to stop the smirk from spreading across his lips lest she smack him right where he sat. There she was, Zelda fucking Spellman of all people, cooing at a dead, stuffed dog as though he was alive and kicking.

“He hasn’t moved since Sabrina brought him in here.”

“Tom doesn’t like men, least of all you.”

“I don’t think he has the ability to like anything because he’s dead.”

There was a tense silence, Zelda’s fingers picking at the dog’s ear with a fervor now. Sabrina, just as well behaved as she had always been during church services, had chosen that moment to leave the room and Faustus wasn’t sure if he was thankful or annoyed.

“Take it back.”

“What?”

“Take it back.”

She was fucking insane. Absolutely bloody bonkers in a way he would have never expected — would have never realized if he had turned away at the door and wished her a good day — much less from her.

“I said take it back.”

“He’s dead, Zelda. That isn’t a live dog… he’s not even stuffed well. What is wrong with you?”

Satan, he wanted to shake her and yell and scream and find the smart, sane Zelda that he once knew. Maybe this is why Hilda had sent him over, to try and talk some sense into her.

“He’s not dead. Tom isn’t dead. He’s my soulmate and he wouldn’t… he wouldn’t leave me.”

Her eyes were glistening with tears she was too stubborn to let fall, her upper lip quivering and damn it, no matter how insane she looked clinging to that dead dog, Faustus wanted nothing more than to hold her and wipe her tears away.

“He wouldn’t leave me like.. like everyone else. Like my parents and Eddie and Hilda—“

“Hilda hasn’t left you, she’s overseas with Ambrose.”

“Hilda and you. And I’m sure Sabrina will leave me too, and Ambrose would if he was allowed to leave this Satan forsaken house, he’s told me that.”

Zelda lifted a delicate finger to the corners of her eyes, dabbed her tears away and let out a very un-Zelda-like sniffle before setting her expression back to the look of annoyance she was so used to wearing.

“So no, Vinegar Tom isn’t dead and he hasn’t left me. Not yet. Just let me have it, Faustus. What do you care if I carry him around?”

He wouldn’t have cared, shouldn’t have asked so many damned questions, but now his heart was achy with guilt and sadness and pity. Pity for that steely, bitchy Zelda he knew centuries ago, and pity for this Zelda sitting in front of him, sniveling pathetically while stroking a dead dog.

Faustus was suddenly glad he hadn’t asked who hurt her, wouldn’t have been able to handle that the answer was him.

“Do you bring him to Black Mass?”

“Only sometimes.”

“And what do you declare a worthy occasion for Tom himself to grace my church with his presence?”

Zelda’s smile reached her eyes when Faustus finally gave in and played along. It was nice to live in the bubble of fantasy — to pretend that for once, someone loved her enough to stay.

"Anniversaries.”

“Of?”

“Deaths, mostly. And the one service a year in which you glorify your marriage to the entire coven like it won’t shatter me all over again.”

It was bitter and cold and so angry that if he was sitting closer, she would have surely spat on him. Zelda had easily broken his heart a dozen times in one short conversation, and yet she looked so fucking smug that it almost angered him.

They both jumped when the heavy wooden door slammed shut, a clatter coming from the front hall before Sabrina raced into the room. A welcome distraction from the serious turn to their conversation, and Zelda looked almost relieved, albeit a touch embarrassed at Sabrina’s clumsy galloping.

“Pizza! Auntie, the pizza’s here!”

Zelda just barely saved the boxes from falling to the floor and ruining their meal, a bemused gleam hiding in her eyes behind a stern tone when she told Sabrina she wouldn’t get a single piece of pizza if she didn’t go wash up first.

“Is your old friend going to stay?”

“He’s just a friend, Sabrina.”

“I should be leaving now, really.” He was shocked when thin fingers clasped around his wrist and pushed him back down into the couch. “Unless you want me to stay?”

She paused for a moment, eyebrows knit together in thought as she fanned herself with a paper plate. It was a look he knew well, the little smirk playing on her lips when she was thinking up a particularly witty retort.

“I don’t care if you stay or if you go, but it’s rather rude to not stay for dinner and make sure I’m okay after you made me cry. Twice.”

Faustus nearly scoffed at her haughty tone and the way her eyes twinkled with mischievous glee. He pretended to focus on the way her hands moved as she served the pizza, the way her hands were decidedly more veiny and frail than he had remembered them being.

“I seem to recall only seeing tears once.”

“The first set gave way to the second.” He pretended not to notice when she delicately placed a piece of pizza crust in front of Vinegar Tom’s nose. “You’re certainly lucky that no tears fell, I would be guilting you from now until the day you die.”

“That would be a rather long time, wouldn’t it?”

“Not if you insult my dog again.”

#Spellwood #my writing #caos #zelda spellman #faustus blackwood #sabrina spellman #vinegar Tom #sweet Zelda and her Tommy boy #queue should see me in a crown

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abizarreyodelingincident · 4 years

Text

Our Nightly Confidant 3

Time for the Forgotten

He wonders. There's a question gnawing at him. Twilight knew. His wolf-boy had not wavered in the slightest when Time had suggested they could be related by blood. He'd been... serious. So serious. Scarily serious. It was a bit of a glance in his mirror shield. The reflection similar enough that it took some effort to mask it with nonchalance. Twilight hadn't been ashamed, more wistful and awed than anything after that talk with Malon.

But he had started to notice the way Twilight looked at him when no one else did.

Twilight knows. Twilight knows and he is a fine young man that Time is so, so proud of. He's not the favorite, because he can't have one. It's a different bond though (something like what he has with Warriors), and he always made sure to never let that influence his decisions on this quest.

The others don't doubt their place with the group. Not because of Time, at least. It's the least he can do for those incredible young men.

He just feels the question come and go in the dark. Twilight hadn't trained with a sword before his quest. Their technique is so similar however... He has to have been taught.

His heart hovers between settled and troubled, and it's the most innocuous thing that tips the balance.

A jab amongst others as they're cutting down wood for a fire, of all things.

Twilight, chainmail and shirt off, wipes sweat off his brows, an axe across his shoulders and a pile of neatly cut branches by his feet. “So slow,” he says, teasing his brother-in-arm a few trees over. “Didn't they run drills like those in the army?”

As always when pricked, Warriors heckles back. “Not every one of us was born in a barn, ranchhand!”

“For your information, I was found in the woods as a toddler, thank you very much,” Twilight replies, taking on an exaggerated snobbish accent. Or what he thinks passes as. It's a bit hard to tell with Twilight's countryside drawl.

The others laugh, join in the mockery, and they don't notice their leader taking a second to digest the news.

Twilight is his descendant. Twilight was adopted at too young an age to remember his birth parents. Might not even know their names.

And a wound he thought was closing suddenly bleeds inside him.

***

It's a slow evening, almost night, and they haven't encountered a monster in days. But he's reeling, his head spinning.

His mind is filled with questions he knows are futile. Pointless bites from a cruel, unknowable future.

Which of Twilight's parents had the Hero's blood? Was it a granddaughter or grandson that perished, leaving a little boy orphaned? Had they known? Twilight mentioned having the Triforce of Courage since as long as he could remember. Had his parents learned only then of the heritage? When their son was marked by fate?

Was it a lack of knowledge that had killed Twilight's birth parents? Training?

The Goddesses truly are cruel, to confirm all his greatest fear in the same breath they gave him a glimpse of triumph. He doesn't know how to feel.

Time knows he ought to talk to someone about those things. About the choice he'd been offered. Even if it felt like breathing glass, like baring his own naked flesh to the elements. He's done it before, mostly with Malon, bless his darling wife. He's spoken the words, cried in whispers and fallen asleep on a damp pillow with the arms of his love around him.

He let his Zelda erase all the suffering Ganondorf wrought, and that very act might have condemned his own to an ignominious death. Might have cost Twilight his birthright. Worse still is the knowledge Wind offered him: the timeline hadn't vanished either. What was the point then? A childhood he couldn't recover even with a child's body? A forsaken land threatened by a mad demon?

He should speak.

He... can't.

He sits down on a rock and ignores the few curious gazes of the boys when he pulls open his inventory. Other times, he might play with them, dance on their expectations and see their astonishment while he laughs inside.

He can't laugh right now.

His fingers close on the instrument, which sends a tingling of power through his hand. An ocarina to commune with the goddesses. He's not a pious man, never had the need, but as he raises the pipe end to his lips, it does feel like praying.

The Song of Healing.

Music to sooth pain beyond flesh and bones.

Why, then, does it only sound like screeching to his ears?

He put so many to rest in that forsaken place. Why can't he turn that power on himself? Why is he not allowed the slightest bit of-?

Something hits him in the chest. The last note of the song goes wild, off-key, and it stops the old memory playing in his head.

“Wolfie?” they call, some puzzled, a few like Wind rather ecstatic by the presence of the pup's beast form.

“... Did he just headbutt the old man?” Legend asks, smirking.

“Maybe the music hurts his ears?” Sky ponders.

Time doubts that. For one, Hylian ears wouldn't hurt enough for that kind of reaction even if he started playing as badly as he felt. No, it was the song that got Twilight into that state.

The whine Twilight makes pulls at some long dead heartstrings. Despite his size, worrying strength and undeniable intelligence, that sound alone gives Twilight the air of a kicked puppy.

The pup can't know, he tells himself. His heritage had been unknown to him until his quest, he mentioned that once. He can't know what the Song of Healing means, what playing it is supposed to do.

But the pain in Twilight's sky-blue eyes speaks otherwise.

“I suppose I ought to be more considerate of our canine friend,” Time declares, dusting off his pants. “My equipment could use a bit of maintenance.”

Busy work. The song had been a bad idea anyway.

As he stands though, he feels Wolfie's fang graze his hands and heels. Tug at his sleeves.

“Not sure he agrees with that,” Wild comments, amusement dancing in his eyes.

Wild knows what this is, and Time has the creeping idea that he's being herded like a goat.

“He'll have to get used to the idea,” he replies, more even than he feels.

The sympathetic feeling is starting to flicker at the repeated nipping. To be a hero, one needs to be stubborn. In this case, Time rather feels this is turning against him. He's rarely been the target of Twilight's protective streak. Fewer still as Wolfie. He is starting to understand that the style of comfort changed quite a bit during the transition. The inability to talk forces his protege to go physical.

And physical for a wolf...

Air is shoved out of his lungs as a massive weight crashes on his back.

“Not gonna work, pup,” Time bites out, trying and failing to keep walking as if nothing is wrong.

Wild's meals are far too rich if this is the result. A big lug of a wolf not knowing his place. He could shake him off, but now his pride is shouting for a decisive victory. He can't surrender so much authority at once. The group's survival and very continued existence depends on it!

His foot hits one of the logs they cut to sit. Of course.

Twilight chooses that moment to jump off. Of course.

Time has no time to brace himself for the puddle of mud. Of. Course.

Would the Goddesses strike him deaf so he doesn't have to hear the explosion of laughter shaking the camp!

His successor looks awfully smug, huffing and puffing on his side of the dead campfire.

Far too smug, in fact.

And, before he knows what's happening, Time finds himself chasing after that insolent youngster throughout the clearing under the thunderous laughter of seven other heroes.

Wolves are faster, but Time has far too many tricks up his sleeves to be bested. A hundred years of training might allow this brat to compete. MIGHT!

And when he collapses not too long after, it's side by side with an equally panting but not as annoyed pup.

He lets out a long sigh, his head lolling on a patch of moss, and the word is more mouthed than spoken: “Why?”

“Woof,” Twilight barks.

It's nonchalant, a little mocking and very much the non-answer Time would give in his place. He hadn't intended for his wall-building tactics to be turned against him this way. But, he supposes, a teacher can't always choose what his students will take from them.

There is, however, a clear hierarchy that needs reestablishing.

Time's grown up with eternal children. He has years of training in zero-ing of the most sensible weak spots in a body. Specifically, where one is most ticklish.

The effect is immediate, over-the-top and oh so satisfying.

Wolfie jumps five feet in the air. He tries to bolt, but in all his arrogance, hadn't realized he'd stayed too close to escape Time's grip.

(The others are watching with wide eyes as their glorious leader play-fights with their massive wolf-friend. Bets are, perhaps, being made.)

Only when the yipping sounds appropriately pitiful does Time give in and stop his ministrations. With a breathless laugh, he lets himself fall on his side, right next to his infuriating descendant. Clearly, Malon would have to be a stricter parent (Time knows he can't be one if his life depends on it) if this is the standard behavior to be expected of his lineage.

For a moment, Time lets himself lay there, on moist grass, half over, half under a wolf with behavioral problems. The thought, again, that he is promised a family line, that this irritating young man descends from him, soothes the old scars on his heart. Despite himself, his hand finds the soft fur and runs through the coat. He doesn't know the future. Few if none knows the full extent of his past. He's long learned to live in a world of strangers wearing friendly faces, of clueless happiness fueled by nightmares of events that, ultimately, never happened. He's a man of faded dreams, to be recognized only by the most precious few.

Some of the weight shifts, and Twilight's big head lies down on top of his chestplate, a soft glint in those gentle blue eyes. Time can hardly move, even if, at the moment, he finds himself comfortable enough resting with his eldest son.

… Which, now that he thinks about it, is what Twilight had been after all along.

“You damned nosy pup,” he says, smacking himself on the forehead. “It's not your job to worry. It's mine.”

The glare he receives goes straight to his soul. As if, it challenges. They really are the same on that front, aren't they? Him and his eldest?

Time can't even tell when it happened, but his chest doesn't feel tight anymore despite the added wolf head. His worries seem so much smaller when his descendant can wrestle-trick him into submission with ease. The boys would be alright.

“Thank you... ”

It's when he sits down by the campfire later that evening, glaring at a smug Twilight over his bowl of soup, that he suddenly realizes the ache has gone. That the bitterness of all his pain being forgotten just... didn't matter in front of that cheeky boy smirking at him.

Even his heart betrays him by going warm with pride. He's impressed.

It shouldn't be a surprise.

After all, his successor is descended from his Malon too. And she always knew best how to handle him.

“You're getting second watch tonight, pup.”

The grunt of annoyance is hardly repayment for a faceful of mud, but you take what revenge you can get. That's another lesson living with the kokiris taught him.

#Linked Universe #Linkeduniverse #LU Twilight #LU Time #LU Wolfie

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toukenramblings · 3 years

Text

Video Games: Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki, Aizen Kunitoshi, Atsushi Toushirou

Oh ho, a fun lil headcanon set like this is so funnnn~!

Warnings: Not much I suppose?

Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki

Sweet MuMu adores video games where we can travel the world. Fantasy world, modern world, past, present, future, he don’t care! An open world game will suit him best! There’s so much to do, and like a lil puppy, MuMu want’s to explore it all!

Extra bonus points if there’s a part of the game where there is something to do with the ocean. He adores the sea after all! Boats, driving them, exploring the ocean, exploring the unknown, oh this TouDan will drink that shit up.

The games that come to mind are Assassin’s Creed: III, Black Flag, Syndicate, Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla. Why? Most of them deal with exploring new lands and some of them deal with piloting ships! III, Black Flag, Odyssey, Origins, Valhalla to be more specific. Syndicate has guns and classy fashion. A little too much for Mutsunokami but he loves playing with the guns in the game - they are very similar in make to his own after all. he also rly likes the sea shanties in odyssey because i rly like them too

If Mutsunokami wants to relax and not play Assassin’s Creed where he goes around stabbing everything that moves, he will play Subnautica or Abzu or Journey to relax. Maybe even Animal Crossing! He loves the cute little animals but I personally think that games where he can just explore the world and meet new people and learn lore just make him happy the most.

Games MuMu would never play are horror games or anything with spiders in them. So Bayonetta and Devil May Cry are out. He loves the idea of gun-toting protagonists but nope, nope. Spiders? Bye fam.

Now that I think about it, he would just be Blathers. He can play Animal Crossing but Gods help him the minute he sees a spider in that damn game. “I THOUGHT THIS WAS A PEACEFUL GAME, WHY ARE THE SPIDERS TRYING TO KILL YOU” cue controller thrown at the television.

Oh MuMu adores party games! Can’t play Smash Bros or Mario Kart for shit. Watch him pay too much attention to the background and yeet himself off of the stage because he saw something shiny. He can kinda play though, but again he gets distracted the most. Buuut ask him to play Mario Party with the rest of the swords and damn right he will play!

Can and will make video games turn into a drinking game. MuMu adores competitive gaming with the rest of the citadel. Will start taking bets on who is gonna win and lose, and sure he may be a pouty loser but he’ll be fiine. But damn right he’ll yeet a tantou to ensure his win. No he won’t he’s not that cruel.

Mutsunokami also adores rhythm games! Taiko no Tatsujin because of Don-chan and the idea of playing with a lil taiko drum as a controller. He’s very much into music after all. There are times when he stops playing a game to just listen to the music and take it all in!

A guilty pleasure game he plays is probably Ghost of Tsushima. No he’s not checking out Jin’s ass whenever they go to a hot spring, what are you talking about? MuMu enjoys it because sometimes just going back to your roots and stabbing a ho is just what you need. dear khotun khan, eat shit

Aizen Kunitoshi

Aizen is also super big on rhythm games. As said above with Mutsunokami, Taiko no Tatsujin will be a favorite of his. He has a secret collection of Don-chan merch, no one is stopping him damn it. Just fucking tRY and take away his precious Don-chan(s). The only ones that can touch his prized collection are the rest of the Rai swords, other peeps he is close to, and maybe you if you two are close/you ask nicely. Get him some Don-chan pajamas and he’ll cry.

Aizen is also pretty good at fighting games, Street Fighter coming to mind because he adores over the top bullshit and the colors! The colors! He mains Ryu though, but he’s more than willing to try new characters!

He’s also pretty competitive at times, so he would adore playing fighting games with the rest of the swords at the citadel. Hotarumaru and he are always playing Smash Bros or Mario Kart, which ends up with a lot of broken controllers. Hotaru has been slightly banned from planning highly competitive gameplay though.

Other games that I know Aizen will be into will be Animal Crossing when he wants to relax. He loves the little yearly festivals and events in the games and it kinda mirrors how life works in the world. Of course he adores Digby and Isabelle, and has threatened Tom Nook with Hotarumaru before. “Don’t you cheat me you stupid tanuki, don’t make me get my brother in here.”

Games that Aizen cannot play are puzzle games. He doesn’t mind them, he just finds them really boring. He watches Akashi play them sometimes but even then, Akashi will conk the hell out. If you play them and have Aizen on your lap watching, Aizen will be amazed at how you are so good at them!

Aizen cannot deal with horror games or sad emotional games. He’s pretty emotional himself and will need a lot of hugs after. He will refuse to play Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons as they remind him of Hotarumaru and himself a lil too much. Horror games is because he’s too scared to. Hotarumaru doesn’t mind them, he likes playing them while Aizen and Akashi cling on to each other and scream in terror.

Aizen also loves games that not only have great music but the visuals and colors just catch his eye. Katamari Damacy comes to mind and he loves the main character a lot. The music! The colors! Ohh man its the best.

A guilty pleasure game he would love is the monster catching genre, Pokemon is an idea but he also loves Yokai Watch. Yokai Watch feels a lil more closer to home, plus Yokai Watch had a crossover with Taiko no Tatsujin! He immediately wasted no time and effort to try and recruit Don-chan. iM STILL TRYING TO GET DON-CHAN ON MY TEAM U LIL SHIt but also im rly biased towards yokai watch and digimon

This lil guy will also love collecting plushies of any characters of the games he plays! Don-chan is his first choice of course but catch him and Hotarumaru in a little cuddle puddle with 70 other plushies from various games!

Most of all, Aizen loves games where he can play with others! Friends, family, you! It doesn’t matter to him! He’ll drag you from your office to relax and just cheer anyone up with something fun! “Come play with me! You promised after all, master! I’ve found a rEALLY cool and fun game to play together with Hotaru!” bless him he’s trying his best

Atsushi Toushirou

Like Aizen, Atsushi will mostly enjoy multiplayer games because of his multitudes of brothers, younger and older. He’ll pick out games like Mario Party, Mario Kart, classics for sure. But then there’s games like Wario Ware or Smash Bros. He wants to play games with as many people as possible! He loves it when he can play with you and his brothers!

If Atsushi wants to play something more solo, he will play something along the lines of Cooking Mama. Houchou got him addicted to it gee i wonder why Houchou loves the game so much but Atsushi just loves the dishes that he can prepare and it almost feels like he can cook! He once tried to follow exactly what Cooking Mama did in the game for cooking once uh...it did not end up. But none the less, he loves the colors and the music of Cooking Mama!

He is also a big ol fan of life simulation games, Animal Crossing being his favorite. Again he and his siblings can all play together and the calm atmosphere almost lulls him to a peaceful sort of sleep that he adores the most. He loves the relaxing vibe and sometimes wishes to live there, wherever the hell these guys live.

Next to Yagen, I think Atsushi will lowkey adore horror games. Yagen does it just to get a rise out of the rest of his siblings and Atsushi is kind of the same. Sure Yagen finds the most gorey and atmospheric based horror to scare the crap outta his siblings, Atsushi will probably play the more jumpscare based horror games just to get a scare outta them too! What good is a horror game if you’re not scared as well??? Damn right he’ll wait until it’s night time to play these games!

Atsushi also does love RPG games! Star Ocean, Final Fantasy, Legend of Zelda, come to mind first. He just loves going on big adventures! Exploring new worlds, meeting new people, learning new things! Bonus points if the game has a really emotional story, catch him and his brothers crying about whatever happens on screen.

Atsushi has a secret fondness for rather childish games. Pokemon, Yokai Watch, so on and so forth. YEs he’s trying his best to be mature and stuff, supporting you his saniwa and all, but sometimes he just wants to be himself and have fun! He has a few mascot plushies from his brothers too, shhh.

Atsushi is also terrifyingly amazing at turn-based strategy games. Mario + Rabbids being a favorite because of the colors and overall fun atmosphere. Fire Emblem is a close second. He knows exactly how to keep his units and characters alive, what upgrades to give them, so on and so forth. “General! Come look at what I did in my game! Wouldn’t it be cool if we could also do something like this?!” he says that as Rabbid Luigi yeets himself off of normal Mario and soars through the air like a bird, landing gracefully without hurting himself. Atsushi no.

He’s the most likely of the TouDans to get into the indie gaming scene, looking at new and upcoming content creators to see what they make! He wants to support them as much as he can!

He’s also one of the more responsible of the TouDans in terms of games. Others will start buying them on a whim but Atsu knows there’s a budget to be had! He isn’t as money crunching as Hakata or anything but he knows his damn limits!

Another game genre he’s secretly into are visual novels. He loves the budding relationships between characters, romantic or not, he loves seeing where they end up! It’s like he’s growing with them!

#touken ranbu #touken danshi #touken ranbu x reader #touken ranbu imagine #tkrb #tkrb x reader #tkrb imagine #mutsunokami yoshiyuki #mutsunokami yoshiyuki x reader #mutsunokami yoshiyuki imagine #my writing #aizen kunitoshi #aizen kunitoshi x reader #aizen kunitoshi imagine #atsushi toushirou #atsushi toushirou x reader #atsushi toushirou imagine #https://toukenramblings.tumblr.com/tagged/Chaotic%20Citadel%20Correspondences #Chaotic Citadel Correspondences

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beyondconfessor · 4 years

Text

The Infernal Contract [16/16]

Rating: Explicit

Pairing: Lilith/Zelda Spellman

Summary: Zelda wished she could say something. There were so many things she needed to tell Lilith. She wished she could look at her and tell it was okay. If she did die, she didn’t regret making that contract. She didn’t regret spending all that time together, not a single moment of it.

N.B.: Also posted on AO3

Zelda tugged at the lace of her gloves, eyeing Agatha and Dorcas both. Prudence trusted them implicitly, and yet hesitation gnawed at her. If she was honest, they had both settled in Zelda’s classes, becoming less disruptive. But quiet students didn’t necessarily make for good babysitters.

She watched as they stood on either side of the bassinets. Agatha played with the ends of one of her plaits, while Dorcas looked down at the ground, admiring her shoes. “Hey,” Prudence said, snapping her fingers at the two of them. “This is serious. If we don’t come back, you will take them to Dezemelda for her to protect. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Prudence,” the sisters said in unison, rolling their eyes. But Zelda caught the way Dorcas averted her eyes again, and how Agatha toyed with her hair. Perhaps they were just as scared of losing their sister.

Zelda stepped away from the lounge room, into the foyer. Sabrina stood in the centre of the room, dressed in the gaudy golden dress. Despite its rather obvious design choice, Zelda thought she looked radiant. Under different circumstances, she would have been proud to chaperone Sabrina to a witching masquerade. Now, however, she could barely alleviate the growing nausea in her belly.

In the next hour, they were going to complete a coup against one of the most powerful beings in this realm. If any of them make it out alive, it would be a miracle.

Hilda reached out and took her hand, squeezing it once before she let go. Zelda turned and faced, offering a small smile. Hilda was trying to remind her that they were all in this together; she wasn’t alone. Sabrina wasn’t alone.

Zelda nodded, steeling her expression. She looked from Ambrose to the mortals, to Mr Scratch. They had gathered around Sabrina, flushing her with compliments and false bravado with manic energy. She could see her niece drinking it in, a mixture of fear and excitement for the coming events.

If there was one thing Zelda missed, it was the feeling of invincibility that came from youth. She’d had her share (and then some) with death to remind her that even she was mortal, but Sabrina was young yet, and if all went well, would have the rest of her life to become jaded towards mortality.

From the corner of her eye, she watched as Prudence stepped away from her sisters and came to stand beside Ambrose, their fingers brushing subtly enough that Zelda moved her eyes away, pretending not to notice.

At least they had reconciled. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too late.

“Are we ready?” Zelda asked, looking amongst the group of them. Anxiety held firm, but as the masks were pulled onto their face, Zelda felt a calmness seal within her. It was going to work. It had to.

She closed her eyes, sending a prayer to Lilith and felt a shiver run down her back in response. She fiddled with the ring on her left hand, finding strange comfort in the way her wedding ring felt.

It wasn’t the ring Lilith had provided her, but it would do for now.

They discussed the plan twice again before Zelda summoned her magic and cast the glamour over them. All at once, the room filled with dozens of more infernal looking creatures who all shuffled around them, turning and looking about the group.

“Praise Aunt Zelda,” Ambrose whispered. “This is by far a glamour to end all glamours.”

Sabrina’s eyes dancers around the creatures, her brow pinching as she looked for faults, but whatever she searched for she seemed satisfied with, giving a small nod as she turned and smiled at Zelda. “Shall well?”

Hilda and Ambrose stepped forward, standing opposite to one another as they had them all take hands. Then the teleportation spell was cast, the magic pulled and expanded, and they were standing outside on grass, from the Hall, where Lilith had advised them to attend.

“Praise be,” one of them whispered, and the prayer fell from Zelda’s mouth as fast as it did from the others.

They disappeared into the night to where Lucifer awaited them, standing outside of the Grand Hall, dressed in their grandest clothes, with the highest glamour any of them could have concocted and waited. Lilith had warned them to wait for her signal, that she would placate Him with enough truth to provide them with the upper hand.

In the moments they waited, Zelda felt the fear grow inside of her, unspooling like a thread had been tugged, but before it had time to grow monstrous, the signal sounded, Lilith’s voice resonating through the doors.

Sabrina entered first as the distraction, the gold glittering in the candlelight as she sang sweetly. Then they entered slowly, in formation as if it were all apart of some grande performance with masks and glamoured crowds and an extravagant dance worthy of any stage.

And then they were still, watching as the crowning occurred, cheering as if it was the very thing they desired. “Hail Sabrina! Hail Satan!” Zelda spoke with the others, feeling the words burn in her throat as she kept her eyes away from Lilith, feeling guilt worm its way into her heart as she reminded herself this was all a performance.

When the Mephisto Waltz began, she felt her voice tremble with the start of the curse, watching as her niece danced with the Dark Lord. A part of her was relieved to know that Sabrina’s dance education had not been wasted, and every tantrum she’d witnessed since the age of five was all worth this moment of trickery. And yet, another part of her seethed at what she was witness to.

The father/daughter dance belonged to Edward, and herself in his stead. To see Lucifer take it caused an unbridled wave of jealousy and pain.

Beneath her breath, Zelda poured her anger into the spell, whispering the Latin incantation with every inch of the rage that filled her, feeling the power build between them as Lucifer smiled at His daughter in a way that no father should look at their child.

Their voices rose as Sabrina was spun away from Lucifer. With that moment, Zelda watched as realisation dawned of His face as He realised what trickery was occurring, His eyes moving from the crowd, before it dispersed at Lilith’s hand, to Sabrina, a scowl tugging over His mouth.

“I told you what would happen if you defied Me again.”

“Remember my name,” Sabrina interjected, uncaring towards His threat and beautifully prideful with her words. “Remember it was me, Sabrina Spellman, who beat you Lucifer Morningstar.”

Ambrose threw the Acheron, and Zelda felt her heart clench as magic flashed and Lucifer’s essence was drawn into the Acheron.

There was a pause, a moment as they all stared at each other, as Zelda looked to Lilith, feeling her lungs tighten in anticipation. Was that it? How long did they wait to know if it worked, if the Dark Lord was truly captured?

Lilith looked back at her, a mirrored expression of fear and wonderment on her face. A glimmer of hope.

Zelda turned, watching as Sabrina stepped forward, picking up the Acheron and Zelda felt herself exhale, another breath drawing in, slower this time as her niece held it steady in her hands as if it were nothing more than a lifeless object.

“Well played, Spellman,” Nicholas said.

“Edward would have been proud,” she agreed, stepping towards her niece. Sabrina’s eyes lifted to hers, and Zelda watched as great smile drew across her niece’s face, awash with joy from the words, before it froze and her eyes dropped to the Acheron.

It fell from her hands, bouncing to the ground, and then Zelda watched as the Acheron rolled to her feet, before it split open, releasing the Dark Lord.

Everyone was running backwards, but before Zelda could manage a step back, He’d spun around, grasping her throat. Zelda blinked, hissing in the barest breath.

“I should have known this was Lilith’s doing,” He said, staring at her as if she was nothing more than a rat He’d caught. “I should have killed you when I had the chance.” He began to squeeze, and Zelda felt her hands claw at His, scratching at the fingers and His wrist as she tried to grab a breath as she felt the last of her oxygen tighten in her chest. “But I was soft for my daughter pleading for your life. Once this was over, I was going to use you to teach dear Lilith a lesson, but I think it’s best we expedite that to now. Don’t you?”

“No!” Sabrina yelped, and Zelda could fear her pulse-pounding. Her lungs were burning. She knew it was a performance more than anything else. If He so wanted it, He could break her neck, and yet the struggle, the helplessness of clawing at his hand was so much worse knowing that He was dragging it out just to torture Sabrina and Lilith both. “You promised!” Sabrina cried out.

“Then let this be your first lesson along with Lilith’s,” He said before lifting Zelda off her feet as if she were a rag doll. “Betrayal will never go unpunished.” He looked over Zelda’s shoulder, to where Lilith must be standing, and whatever expression she wore must have pleased Him, as Zelda watched as a grande, sickening grin pulled over His lips.

Zelda wished she could say something. There were so many things she needed to tell Lilith. She wished she could look at her and tell it was okay. If she did die, she didn’t regret making that contract. She didn’t regret spending all that time together, not a single moment of it.

And at least this way they would be bound together in Hell.

She could hear her heartbeat in her ears, pounding suddenly. She looked down at the Dark Lord, watching the fury twist His features into something ugly as his lips peeled back, exposing his teeth.

Zelda’s vision darkened, her heartbeat slowing. She felt tired suddenly, her muscles weakening. She could hear Sabrina screaming, but it sounded so distant as she looked down in the Dark Lord’s eyes, watching the iris seem to bleed red with His power.

He was so angry at her for taking Lilith from Him, she realised. He wasn’t a god; he wasn’t a deity. He was just some celestial being throwing a temper tantrum.

Pathetic, she thought, feeling the last of her life drain away as darkness overtook her vision.

There was darkness, and then a shock struck through her very being as if the dam around her magic had crumbled, and it was all rushing out.

Lucifer cried out, letting go of her as recoiled backwards, burned by whatever had caused the sudden surge.

Zelda’s feet dropped to the ground hard enough that her knees buckled, but as her feet hit the ground, an arm slid around her waist, steading her from falling backwards.

She turned her head towards the warmth, her vision returning with a swathe of red until she realised it was Lilith’s dress, brushing against her face. There was a blur of movement, and then she watched as Lilith outstretched her other arm, holding Lucifer in place.

“Summon Faustus,” Lilith said to her. “Now. I can’t hold Him for long.”

Zelda steadied herself on her feet, she wasn’t sure what had occurred, but Lilith was already straining as she held onto a magically bound Lucifer, as everyone seemed to hold their breath.

Closing her eyes, Zelda spoke the summoning spell, and with a great tug of her magic, she felt Faustus appear before her. Opening her eyes, she watched as his body fell to the ground, his legs and arms both tied and with a gag placed into his mouth.

Zelda blinked, glancing from the rope binding to Lilith, confident the woman had something to do with it.

“There isn’t time,” Lilith spat. “Mr Scratch, I believe you know how to bind a demon to a vessel.”

“I––”

“Quickly then. To His Eminence,” she said, venomously spitting the title.

Zelda watched as the bead of sweat began to draw on Lilith’s face as she held Lucifer in place, long enough for Nicholas to speak the necessary words, using the Latin and ancient greek to summon and then bind the Dark Lord into the provided vessel.

Zelda watched as Faustus’ eyes went wide, his body convulsing in the restraints, words hissing through the muffled gag as the Dark Lord was entrapped within him as He had been caught in the Acheron. And then Lilith’s arm was tightening around her, as she expelled the last of her magic.

Faustus’s mouth foamed as he fought the restraints, his dark eyes flashing red, but as the ropes began to snap, Ambrose stepped forward, clicking his fingers with a heavy sleep charm.

And then Faustus’ expression slackened, his body going limp.

Everyone paused, staring at his sleeping form, waiting for it to convulse as the Acheron had, before Lilith’s arm loosened from Zelda’s waist.

Lilith stepped forward and nudged his body with the toe of her shoe. “A sleep spell, well done,” she said, looking up at Ambrose with an admiration that warmed Zelda.

Zelda watched as a proud smile tugged at Ambrose’s lips, before he looked around the crowd awkwardly to the fallen form, remembering how quickly it had changed at the moment before. “Is that it?” he asked. It was a good question.

But before Zelda could voice her agreement, a violent headache threatened to split her skull apart as she dropped to her knees with a sudden wave of exhaustion. The world dimmed once again, and for an awful moment, she wondered if she was dying.

“Aunt Zee?” Sabrina asked as Hilda called out her name as well. And then the both of them, with Prudence and Ambrose were fluttering around her as if she had passed out. She nearly might with the headache. It was worse than when Faustus had tried the Caligari Spell.

“I’m fine,” she murmured, batting her sister’s hands away as she drew in a deep breath. Her throat was sore, and as she lifted a hand to rub at where the Dark Lord had grabbed at her, she felt the prints of his fingers. It was swollen already, and would likely be bruised by tomorrow. But she was alive. “Reside effects of a spell backfiring,” she explained, drawing in deep breaths to alleviate the headache.

“The summoning spell?” Ambrose asked, looking to Faustus’ fallen figure. From the corner of Zelda’s eye, she could see Lilith crouching on the ground, picking something off the floor.

“No, you did something to the Dark Lord, didn’t you Zelds?” Hilda asked, “We all saw it. He recoiled as if you’d stung him.”

“That wasn’t me,” Zelda said, looking up at her sister. “I thought He’d killed me.”

“You’d forgive our scepticism, but it must have been you,” Prudence said. “None of us did anything.”

“That’s not entirely true,” Lilith said as walked over to, and holding out the item for her to admire.

Zelda looked at the outstretched hand, to the familiar piece of jewellery. A laugh bubbled up inside of her as she looked at the yellow stone. “Didn’t He destroy it?” she asked, reaching up to take it with her left hand. As she did, she noticed the lack of a wedding ring on her finger.

“A necessary deception,” Lilith said, though her words were tight. Zelda looked up at her, wondering when Lilith had changed the rings before she recalled the strange comfort she had when she played with the ring earlier, and the moment their fingers had entwined as Lilith had promised her that she wouldn’t become the Acheron.

Her hand laid over Lilith’s as she touched over the ring, feeling the quiet magic within it.

Lilith had fought for her survival. If Lucifer were to escape, her death would not be swift for such flagrant disobedience. She must have known that.

“Why would you risk yourself like this? You could have escaped, survived if this hadn’t worked.”

Lilith flushed, rolling her eyes, “I told you, I don’t like people playing with what’s mine. Not even the Dark Lord.”

“And yet I’m still not yours,” she teased. “How many times do I need to tell you that?”

“You don’t need to,” Lilith said, her fingers clasping around hers. Her expression had shifted, however, and an earnest look had come over her face as whispered, “You’re entirely your own person. Zelda I…I admire that about you.”

Admire. Zelda felt the word rise and fall inside of her. It was certainly something to be admired, and yet her heart wished for something more.

She blinked, pulling her eyes away and realised that they were standing alone. Sabrina had run off into Nicholas’ arms. Prudence stood off to the side with Ambrose and Hilda, and the mortals stood huddled together, a strange look of fear and bafflement on their faces.

It seemed everyone was giving them as much privacy as was reasonable, allowing Zelda to rise to her feet as she looked to the bound body of Faustus. His body was twisted awkwardly, and although the ropes still held him, they would not hold for much longer were He to awake. “How long will the sleep spell last?”

“Long enough,” Lilith said. “Though the sooner I have Him bound in Hell, the safer we’ll all feel.”

Zelda nodded, casting her eyes around the room. “There’s no need for all of us to go. I’ll take you to the Gates of Hell.”

Lilith gave a wicked smile, likely recalling their tryst in the mines. “And what would a send-off at the Gates of Hell look like, I wonder?”

Zelda laughed, turning away as she advised, “I’ll tell my family to expect me home late.”

She walked away to the sound of Lilith’s soft laughter, over to where Hilda, Prudence and Ambrose stood.

Prudence leant against Ambrose, familiar exhaustion weighing on the two of them as she rested her head on Ambrose's shoulder for support, unabashed at Zelda’s approach.

It was as Zelda looked to Prudence’s face, to the tears swimming in her eyes, that Zelda remembered that not everyone here felt pure loathing towards Faustus, some of them had more complicated feelings.

“Prudence––“ she began, preparing an apology on her lips.

“It’s fitting,” she said, cutting her off with a too-tight smile. “I’m sure they’ll get along famously.”

Zelda bit her tongue and gave a short nod, feeling an odd feeling wave in her stomach. The idea of Faustus and Lucifer together for all eternity didn’t bring pleasure to Zelda, but she couldn’t say she felt guilty about it either. Her feelings for Faustus and the Dark Lord had both withered until nothing remained, and yet she wondered if anyone truly deserved to be the Dark Lord’s jailer.

“Auntie,” Ambrose said, rocking on his feet. “We might return home. We’re anxious to ensure the twins are alright. Agatha and Dorcas are not…the preferred carers for them.”

“Understood,” Zelda said. “I was going to suggest the same for you all. Hilda, could you take the mortals back home with us as well?” she said, enquiring it as a question to her sister despite the implied command. “I’m sure that leaving them alone right now would be ill-advised.”

“Quite,” Hilda agreed. “We’ll have a little sleepover with some hot chocolates and a little sweet dreams cake. But…are you sure you don’t want us to come with you? To the gates?”

“No, sister. I’ll be fine.”

“Well,” Hilda said, before turning her eyes to Ambrose and Prudence both before looking back at Zelda. “Be safe then.”

“And Zelda,” Prudence said. “I think we can all agree that you’re well due to being selfish if something were to occur.”

“Oh yes,” Hilda agreed as Ambrose gave a mischievous smile her way.

“Bye, Auntie. Travel safe.”

Zelda blinked. “I will…” she said, drawing her eyes across her family at the odd looks they gave her. There was a suspiciously smug smirk on Prudence as she laced her fingers with Ambrose and began tugging him away, out of the room as Hilda walked over to where the mortals were and began rounding them up.

There was only one final thing to do. She turned on her heel, over to where Sabrina stood. Her niece was wrapped in Nicholas Scratch’s arms, still wearing the crown. Zelda felt herself stand taller as she stepped before the both of them, eyebrows raised as they slowly peeled apart from each other, looking sheepish. As if she cared if they were fighting or not.

“Now what?” Sabrina asked.

“Now I’ll take Lilith to the Gates and ensure they close behind her. I’m sure we’ll all feel more comfortable once the Dark Lord has been returned to Hell.”

Sabrina nodded, blinking tiredly. “So, then Lilith will be Queen of Hell?”

“Unless you have a better idea?” Zelda inquired with a raised brow, already knowing where her niece’s thoughts were drifting towards.

She watched as Sabrina’s lips pressed tightly, her back straightening in a familiar stance of disobedience before her shoulders sagged, seeming to realise that whatever fanciful ideas Lucifer had spoken of, the truth of the matter was likely to be a stark contrast.

Sabrina lifted the crown from her head, and then placed into Zelda’s outstretched hands, staring at it with a soft regretful expression, as if she was considering asking for it back.

“I’ll see you soon,” Zelda said.

Sabrina’s eyes snapped to hers before she looked towards Nicholas. “Did you…want us to come with?” she asked, reluctant to follow. Zelda could see that all her niece wanted to do, was finish reconciling with Mr Scratch, and who was she to stand in the way of whatever that turned out to be.

“Go home. All of you. Have some of Hilda’s hot chocolate and sweet dreams cake, and we’ll…review everything tomorrow.”

Sabrina nodded, turning to look over to the mortals. “With Father Blackwood gone, what happens to the coven?”

Zelda didn’t even want to think about that. Likely it would be handed over to the next available warlock, or a nearby coven would amalgamate into their own, binding them together in the new paths forward. The real concern would be trying to explain this to the council. “I’m not sure,” she said, “But I think we’ve all earned an evening of rest.”

“I could definitely do with a nap.”

“As could I,” Nicholas agreed. Zelda felt herself roll her eyes as the two began making heart eyes at each other.

She returned to Lilith, who remained watching over Faustus’ body, looking for any signs of life. As Zelda approached, she raised her head and smiled before noticing the crown. “Shall I be so presumptuous as ask if that’s mine now?”

“Perhaps it should be mine,” Zelda teased. “After all, I was the distraction.”

Lilith nodded once before she shared a smirk. “Perhaps there’s a way we could settle this,” she teased, stepping closer, one hand coming to rest on Zelda’s waist. “I’m sure we could come to some kind of compromise.”

“Oh, I’m sure we could,” she agreed, before stepping closer and raising the crown. “But I think we both know who the truth Queen is.” She set the crown carefully upon Lilith’s head and then stepped back to admire her form. The woman stood tall and poised, her eyes bright with the weight of the crown. “All Hail Queen Lilith. Long may she reign.”

Lilith flushed at the words before a strange look passed over her face as her expression seemed to seal away into something passive.

Zelda thought of asking what the expression meant and then decided against it, fearful of Lilith leaving her. Instead, she chose to joke, “Now, all we need is a proper introduction to Hell’s courts.”

“In time,” Lilith said, “But before we go I have a final gift to depart.” She stepped over to Sabrina and Zelda watched as she murmured something softly to her niece before pressing a kiss to her forehead. For a moment, Zelda watched as Sabrina softened into it as if Lilith was the maternal figure she so craved, but then Lilith was stepping back and walked towards Zelda’s.

She reached down, grabbed at the bound body of Faustus and hoisted him into a sitting position by the scruff of his shirt, and then took Zelda’s hand with other. “If you’re ready?” She asked.

“I am.”

And with that, Zelda felt them teleport from the Great Hall to the mines.

It was like stepping into a boiler room as she was flushed with the heat coming from the door with a powerful magnetism, drawing her closer. Magic flooded the room, and Zelda felt herself take a step closer.

She drew her breath and looked through the Gates of Hell. There were pencilled drawings littered around the ground, marking strange symbols. A hot, humid heat drew from where the gates had separated, barely half a foot apart. Through the parting between the two doors, Zelda could see the gold and red lights of Hell. Pandemonium.

She used to dream of what it would be like, of dancing in a grande ball, of being favoured by the Dark Lord. It was within sights, and a large part her was curious as to what laid beyond the gold and red skies that she could see. There were stories of creeping forests and extensive wastelands, as well as portals to other worlds.

And yet…this was the end.

Zelda swallowed and looked to Lilith, watching as the woman smoothed down her dress before clasping her hands before her, as if waiting for Zelda to say something first.

“We won.”

“We did,” Lilith agreed.

Zelda drew in a breath, stepping forward. Her skirts were heavy and wide. It was an old favoured dress from her earlier years. She’d worn this dress through many debaucherous nights, from opium and absinthe rooms to bacchanal nights, and many, many trysts with sex demons. And yet all those moments paled to the brief time she’d spent with Lilith. Nothing else had been more addictive, more orgasmic nor more freeing than the very first woman.

There were so many things she wanted to tell her, so many questions she had.

Lilith’s eyes were trailing over her shoulder as if she couldn’t quite bear to hold eye-contact with her, and Zelda felt her heart clench with trepidation. She wanted to tell Lilith to ask her again, ask her to go to Hell with her, because a part of her very much did want to go.

And yet, there was Sabrina to look after. Prudence, the twins, Ambrose and Hilda still needed her. The coven would be in tatters, and the council would be in turmoil. She needed to fix it all because no one else would.

Zelda stepped forward and kissed Lilith’s cheek, her hand squeezing the woman’s shoulder to confirm that she was still there.

And then Lilith’s lips were on hers, and Zelda was sinking away, feeling words swell in her throat as she kissed her with every growing passion building inside of her. Ask me again, she wanted to say. Ask me, ask me. Lilith, please ask me again.

They separated, and Zelda felt her fingers shake as she stepped backwards. An uncharacteristic shyness building between them.

Zelda looked from Faustus’ sleeping form and then to Lilith, knowing they couldn’t delay this any further. They had had their lasts, and if she were fortunate, Lilith would continue to visit her as stipulated in their contract.

“Zelda…” Lilith said, and Zelda looked up.

Ask me again.

“I unbind you from your contract.” Zelda felt her heart drop at the words, but Lilith continued speaking, a strange smile on her face. “Your soul is your own. You no longer serve me, and my magic is my own.”

Zelda drew in a sharp breath, stepping backwards as she felt the power dissipate from herself as if Lilith had turned on a faucet, allowing the reserves to empty until only hers remained.

This was final. Lilith was saying goodbye, for good this time. They would not see each other again.

Zelda looked away, pulling her arms closer to herself. “So that’s it, then?”

“That’s it,” Lilith agreed. “You’re free to your own life, and your soul is no longer bound to me should you die.”

“Why now?”

“Because I will not bind you as Lucifer bound me. You’re free to your own life. However, you so choose it.”

Zelda looked away, feeling a wave of anger grow inside of her. She wanted to snap that it wasn’t her decision to make, but it was. Lilith began the contract; it fitted that she would be the one to end it. To no longer desire their meetings together.

She watched as Lilith picked up Faustus by the back of his collar, a distant look in her face. “Until we meet again,” she said, and then with a wave of her hand, the papers flew away and the gates parted open. And she was walking towards them. And she was leaving, stepping across the threshold.

She was watching Lilith leave, and all she could think about was Prudence telling her that she was allowed to be selfish. And wasn’t she? After all of those years of raising Sabrina, after caring for Hilda and Ambrose both, after everything she went through in her marriage to Faustus to save her family.

Wasn’t she owed a selfish act?

“Ask me again,” Zelda said, stepping behind her.

Lilith turned, looking over her shoulder. “What?”

“Ask me again,” Zelda said. “Ask me again. If that’s what you still want.”

Lilith’s face furrowed in confusion, before understanding washed over it. She turned, facing Zelda entirely, her lips parting, but Zelda couldn’t read her expression. She looked from her eyes to her mouth to hands to her face again, searching for what the next words would be—hoping that she felt the same way.

What if she didn’t want her?

“Are you asking me to ask you to come to Hell with me and serve as my consort?”

“Not your consort,” Zelda stated. “I will be your High Priestess.”

Lilith’s eyes narrowed sceptically. A question seemed to rise between them before she paused. “Are you sure this what you want? Hell is not everything the stories say. There will be war.”

“Then you’ll need an advisor.”

“There will be bloodshed.”

“I’ve done my share of it.”

Lilith tilted her head, her face soft and sad. “And your ties here? Your coven, your family?”

Zelda felt the anger growing inside of her again as humiliation burned at her cheeks. “If you do not wish for this, then just say so plainly so I can move on.”

“This isn’t a light decision,” Lilith pointed out. “This isn’t a trip across to Australia. If you follow me, there will be death and destruction and war. You will be cut off from everyone you care about until such a time as that is settled, which could take decades if not centuries. I love you too much to ask you to walk into that blindly!”

Zelda stared at her, watching as Lilith seemed to recoil with embarrassment at the spilt words. And yet, Zelda felt her heart slow with anticipation, uncertain if she’d heard correctly. “Love?”

Lilith looked away, crossing her arms against her chest in a display of petulance. “Yes, well, embarrassing confessions aside, this is not a light decision.”

Zelda stepped forward, reaching out to take Lilith’s hand. Their fingers entwined and it seemed to ground them both as she stepped closer. “I have spent so much of my life devoted to the responsibility of others, as have you. For just one decision, don’t we deserve to be selfish?”

Lilith’s face softened. “It will not be easy.”

“No, it won’t.”

“There are days you will hate me.”

“I’m certain of it. You can be rather aggravating when you choose to be. But I love you more than I ever expected I could love another, and I want to spend the rest of my life at your side. Not serving some form of duty for the sake of moral posterity.”

“And your family?”

“Hilda will be there, and I’m sure we can find a way to answer any prayers they may have.”

Lilith stared at her, her eyes flicking between Zelda’s, looking for any sign of hesitation before she stepped back, taking the collar of Faustus’ body once more.

“As you wish,” she said, bowing her head briefly. “Well, then. Zelda Spellman, will you serve me as my High Priestess in Hell, as I will serve you as your Queen?”

“I will.”

Lilith’s empty hand reached out to her own and Zelda bound her fingers in hers. She felt the electricity of their magic shoot through her nerves as she stepped across the threshold. Her heart eased. She’d been sure about so many things in life, but this time, she felt excitement bubbling inside of her.

Lilith was right; it wouldn’t be easy. But she was a Spellman. They thrived in the face of adversity.

“So…you love me?” Lilith asked, her voice teasing as she glanced at Zelda. “You know I’m going to hold that over you.”

“As I will hold the fact that you said it first.”

Lilith’s eyes flashed, a grimace on her face. “I have ways of punishing you for such insolence.”

“Mm, I know. I look forward to it.”

There had once been a time where Zelda felt that her only addiction in life was cigarettes, but as the Gates of Hell closed behind them, and they descended into Pandemonium, she felt the need for nicotine disperse. The air was heavy with smoke, and Lilith looked magnificent beside her.

The Queen and her High Priestess, together at last. May their reign be long.

A/N: I just want to thank each and every reader, and everyone who's commented or gave kudos or bookmarked it, and to those who reached out on tumblr and twitter to me. Thank you for sharing this with me.

When I first began this, I never dreamed it would get as popular as to get past 200 kudos, so thank you all, from the bottom of my heart.I have a final one-shot planned for them (that's from Lilith's POV so we get a nice bookend in the beginning and end) so I hope you will stick around to read it :)

And if you have any questions, please let me know. I'm happy to answer any lingering questions you might have, whether it's about why I did a scene a certain way, or what was going on in the background.

#lilith #zelda spellman #madam spellman #zelith #caos fanfic #morgan writes #morgans fic

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ashleyswrittenwords · 4 years

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Whumptober No.5

Where Do You Think You’re Going? (On the Run | Failed Escape | Rescue)

Series Summary: After Calamity Ganon awakens, Zelda is left alone and heartbroken. Now something horrible has happened to Link and no more is she merely tasked with fighting the Calamity - but also what is left of her knight.

Growing up, everyone was taught about the inevitable prophecy.

Esme knew as much as anyone did that 10,000 years ago a fabled princess and her hero fought against a dreaded evil, ultimately bringing peace to Hyrule. It was a tale told in primary school alongside the common alphabet. As a young girl, she nearly obsessed over the prophecy – reading legends and mythos to find similar themes that all led back to a girl with the blood of Hylia and a boy blessed with Her sword.

So, when it was decreed by the historians that the ancient evil would soon break from its seal Esme was not afraid. She knew their crown princess was the goddess’s descendent just as the many princesses before her. Esme had grown from a girl and into a young woman and with that, she found love and bore a family. Still, with so much at stake now, she wasn’t afraid because by the time her daughter was born, they had found the boy who will wield the sword that seals the darkness.

It seemed that everything was falling into place.

Her hometown, just west of Castle Town, was evacuated in preparation for Calamity Ganon. Her husband refused to leave as this was his father’s home and so she left with her children to the outstretches of Hyrule.

Naturally, the Calamity resurfaced and with it was destruction.

News traveled relatively fast. The events that were meant to happen fell out of place. The princess did awaken her power; however, it was too late. Her knight had died at Fort Hateno while they were fleeing from Calamity Ganon. As she was meant to, Princess Zelda was able to fight back against the Calamity’s adversaries even though the time in between had collapsed their current monarchy and resulted in a stand still.

With no hero, who was going to slay the darkness?

It had been nearly a full year since the Calamity overshadowed them. Hyrule was experiencing one of its coldest winters on record and Esme hadn’t seen her husband in months. The only acknowledgement of his whereabouts came from the men who visited their wives or the housewives that have returned to their settlement. It was grueling to be away from him, but she knew he was alive and her two young children were safer away from where Calamity Ganon was the strongest.

Esme also knew her husband wanted to protect their little farmhouse for as long as possible, but it was unforeseeable how long that demon would hold reign over Hyrule. And, of course, she missed him. Their family was alive and well. Without him it only felt incomplete and if she had to drag that man from that house, then so be it.

Perhaps it wasn’t the wisest to leave in the dead of winter. The thought occurred to her as she began trekking east. Her children were safe with her parents and in-laws, so she knew they would be well-cared for. Hylia had blessed them with being so close to Rito Village and the inhabitants were more than generous with supplying them foodstuffs and winter gear. Because of this, Esme told herself she would endure.

Hylians weren’t the only ones that hated the cold, according to her many tomes on Hylian legends, the monsters were adverse to these conditions. So, yes, should she not run into anything particularly difficult – Esme would endure.

She took her old horse east without a hitch. It was true that there was an influx in monsters. They tended to watch her from far away, not willing to chase after one woman. If anything, they were disinterested in her and if she weren’t as smart as she was, Esme would’ve been slightly offended.

Families didn’t stay in her little village, especially in the months following the Calamity. Those that stuck with her stubborn husband were other men and the elder families whose children were already grown.

When she arrived, Esme didn’t see one person on the roads. The sun was setting over the horizon and beyond the windmill of their village was Hyrule Castle in the distance. When prior she had felt blessed to have such a view, it now felt like an awful reminder of what they lost. Their village was modest, but it had never been so quiet.

Winter or not, one of the major roads passed through here and there was always something happening. Mr. Hutchinson would have his world-famous bread baking every morning, his wife just as busy with winter treats. The children here were always so active in the snow. They never tired of their games and would dress up every year to sneak ale from the midwinter festival. (They never succeeded when Esme was around, but sometimes she would overlook the older teens because she was young enough to remember how it feels to yearn for adulthood.)

Mrs. Hutchinson opened her door the moment Esme rode into town. Her wrinkles had deepened and the stress had worn her features. They embraced briefly.

“I saw your old man just the other day,” she had said. “There aren’t many that have stayed, but he’s been beyond helpful.”

Esme scowled at that, “He should be with his family. Just like you and your husband.”

The baker’s wife sighed, “With the raids happening all around this place… you’re right, we should. The timing just hasn’t been the best.”

In response, Esme should have asked what she meant. She didn’t. Instead, she was all too eager to see her partner. Not a moment longer she had bid Mrs. Hutchinson goodbye and promised she’d stop by after wrangling her own husband into leaving.

At the end of the road was her home. It was still standing in one piece with the stable beside it empty. With a gentle voice, she left her horse in the open field in front of her home. She’d properly feed and stable him once she saw her husband.

The door creaked open under her fingertips and she shivered from the sudden shelter from the wind. The fireplace was out, however the embers were glowing and the house looked properly lived in. The lock to the door clattered shut. She unwound the Rito scarf from her shoulders and set it on the coat rack, shedding her first layer of clothes with it. The living space had a set of dishes atop a table, a hearth on the far wall, and a small kitchenette that Esme had always adored.

He wasn’t home, evident from the empty space on the coat rack, but she popped in front of their mirror anyway. Her hands went to smooth down her hair, combing down her pale locks after two days of riding. Her eyes held extra lines she hadn’t noticed before now.

A thought snuck into her head and she cursed herself for her vanity.

“Ben?” she called out, turning slightly to glance at the stairs that disappeared to the upper floor. There wasn’t an answer, so she turned back with a crease in her brow. The emptiness bothered her more than she’d ever admit to him.

He’d tease her about missing him. She’d bully him into confessing that he missed her too.

Esme turned fully away from the mirror and bounded up the steps, calling out again, “Benji?”

It was darker upstairs. She passed the kids’ room and peered into her own. The sheets on their bed were mussed, the workmanship of a man whose heart was only half into the task. That, too, was empty.

She resigned to looking out their bedroom window over the snow-covered cabbage field. They didn’t make much money by farming. Her husband had once done reservation work in the Royal Guard before leaving prior to the Calamity. Even if she believed it was all going to work out, she didn’t want him in danger. Esme knew how guilty he felt, but they weren’t as young as they used to be – only living for each other. They had two more little lives to support, and she wasn’t sure she could do it without him.

Dusk had fallen over the town when she heard a loud bang coming from the village. The picture frames on the walls shook before ebbing back into place. Esme’s heart stuttered in her chest and she pressed her cheek flush to glass to find the source of the loud sound. Her hands launched herself from the windowsill and she bounded down the stairs. Her scarf tangled with the coat rack so she left it a flurry of motions to open the door.

From the entrance of her house were a varied array of screams emanating from the center of town. Smoke rose steadily into the air, illuminated ominously by fire. Esme tried to hold down her horse, but he was already spooked and shirked away from her touch.

Esme did the second best thing, she began running. The air was colder than before and it pinched her cheeks as she reached the road. On her way out, a stocky man she recognized was running her way.

“Esme, gods, what are you doing here?” he huffed out a breath, his hands placed tactfully on his knees. He was the butcher’s apprentice, no doubt staying to safeguard the butcher shop.

“I came for Ben,” she glanced at the direction he came from with concern. “What’s happening?! Are we being robbed?”

“Monsters. A lot of monsters. They’ve been going around raiding villages for food instead of finding it on their own,” he frowned. “You should flee. Come on.”

He went for her arm, but she tore it away. “What about the Hutchinsons? Are you just leaving them?”

He glared at the accusations, “It’s too late!”

She held in her disbelief, again starting down the road.

“Esme, stop! It isn’t just the monsters!”

It didn’t matter. It was beyond awful to leave an elderly couple to fend for themselves. Hopefully he was the only one to abandon them.

The fires roared over the town square and were already spreading towards the bakery. It looked like they started at the general store. Esme reached the bakery entrance, pulling at the door and pounded for them to open up. The porch to the general store creaked to a slump before falling completely into charred smoke. She hacked on a throatful of it and stumbling from the bakery front.

Her name found her ears and she saw a crouched form slumped against the building. Esme’s sight adjusted and she stumbled over.

“Margaret! Are you- Hylia above,” Esme choked on her words and held her hands in front of her month.

Mrs. Hutchinson looked up at her mournfully, tears in her eyes, then looked back down at her husband. He was limp in her arms and stared with unseeing eyes. Sweet Mr. Hutchinson was dead and surrounded by a puddle of his own blood.

Mrs. Hutchinson sniffed and spoke through watery words, “You should leave, Esme. Those monsters…”

She heard them. A bokoblin snort coming from the other side of the wall, then a crash. They were rummaging for food.

“Come on,” Esme began, ignoring the bile forming in her throat to help Margaret to a stand. The women was hesitant at first.

“But…” she motioned to her husband.

Esme found her eyes, “He’d want you to live. Let’s go.”

Her hands shook with uncertainty, but she willed it not to appear on her face. If she could get this woman to her horse then they could start west. The search for her own husband would have to wait, even if the thought of his fate made her heart ache horribly.

Another crash was heard and across the square was a shout of anger.

“Burn it all, damn it!”

It was so loud that Esme stopped in her tracks. Across the square passed the town well was a man in front of the mayor’s broken-in door. She had half a mind to call out for help until his mannerisms sunk in. A blue moblin knelt before him… groveling at his feet. The man brought a swift kick to its head, glaring down at the thing.

“Animals. The lot of you. I want it to the ground. Do you hear me?! You’re not here to scavenge!”

Esme expected the moblin to rear up and attack the idiot, but he only made a noise of pain and slunk backward. She began to think that this idiot wasn’t an idiot after all.

Anger welled in her chest, but she wasn’t reckless. She wouldn’t be. The man turned to them, bright yellow eyes against the darkness. His motions stuttered for a few seconds, enough time to tell Margaret that her horse was waiting at the farmhouse.

He began walking towards them. A nondescript expression forming on his face.

“What about you? I’ll ride this way,” Mrs. Hutchinson whispered harshly, already backing away at the sight.

“No,” Esme said immediately. “No, you leave first thing. I’ll find another way.”

The woman ran off, leaving Esme to glower in the man’s direction. She shouted, hoping to seem indignant instead of startled. If she distracted him then maybe he wouldn’t care to go after her friend.

“What are you doing to my town?”

He was still fairly far away, but she could see the unnaturalness in his movements. His sword in his hand… Esme stumbled back. Blood, red and recent dripped from the tip.

She took a step back and he tilted his head, watching her curiously. “Your town?”

Esme held in a gasp. She knew that face. “I-I thought… I thought it wasn’t true…” she breathed out.

Even with the fire illuminating from behind him, it was unmistakable. She had taken her family to Castle Town to see one of the many military parades and festivities the king threw to keep public morale high. The Champions were a staple, famous. Esme could spot the Hylian Champion easily in a crowd.

But she made a mistake – her voice wavered. His steps grew faster and she staggered back before falling into a run. The fire had spread further, wicking up from the rooves. Rich laughter followed her, echoing off the walls as she ran past the bakery.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

A yelp escaped her as she tripped over Mr. Hutchinson’s dead body. Her leg twisted awkwardly, but she scrambled up anyway. The short alleyway led to a brick way where the bakery furnaces were along with a storage area for the general store. Esme bypassed these too, cursing herself for not taking another avenue.

With the town cut out of the hills, the back alleys were sloped and craggy where infrastructure wasn’t held as a priority. It was often that snow was left undug. Her ankle pulsed red and gave out under her weight once the snow grew too high.

Esme cursed bitterly, scraping by her hands and knees until even that was pointless.

The princess’s knight had loud boots. They were thick and distinctly of military garb. The rest of it wasn’t. He wore a common coat, but peaking out was a Hylian royal blue. In his grip was a broadsword, drawn and ready.

“Please!” she began, her voice taunt. “I-I have children waiting for me.”

In a blink, things were slightly different. He blinked down at her with a blankness and when he kneeled before her, she winced and pulled away as far as she possibly could. When she opened her eyes, she saw normalcy in his. A cobalt, brilliant and beautiful.

The knight brought a hand to her bangs and smoothed them back. It was a gentle gesture. Her hair threaded through his fingers.

“Your hair is the wrong shade,” he said absently, as if disappointed. “And your eyes are the wrong color.”

Esme went to speak but as soon as she did a piercing sound flew through the air and an arrow burrowed into the knight’s shoulder. The force propelled him backward and he made a sharp sound. It happened quick. He rolled into a stance, but then her view of him was obstructed by another.

The woman turned to meet her eyes and gave a minute signal to leave. Her blonde hair was braided back tightly and in her hands was a bow with an arrow readied on the string. The quiver strapped to her back jostled when she faced the knight once more.

“I was wondering when you would show up,” he grunted, Esme heard the snap of wood.

“What do you have to gain by doing this?” she sneered. She stood readily; her thick clothes clear that she was expecting a fight.

Esme shuffled in the snow to get off the ground, but with her injury her getaway was slow.

“You never come out to see me,” he said, a grin was audible. “What else was I to do? Oh… are you going to kill me?”

The knight was referencing the woman’s bow. Esme held in a gasp as the arrowhead shown with bright light. The fingerless gloves she wore readjusted on the bow.

That must be…

From Esme’s position, she could see the broadsword loosen in his grip then falling to the dirty snow altogether.

“Was my sword not enough for you? We both know you can wield it now, but – no – you choose another weapon. I should be insulted,” his humor was palpable. “How poetic would it be to be struck down by something so dear to me?”

“Shut up,” Princess Zelda said through gritted teeth. “Pick up your sword.”

He sighed heavily, falling to his knees in a grandiose slump. “I suppose my charge will do.”

“Link.”

“Death is only good when it’s swift.”

“Link!”

Esme watched as he just barely made eye contact with her. Back was that cat-eye yellow. She opened her mouth to yell out a warning but Zelda had already loosened the tenseness of her string.

In one motion, Link gathered the hilt of his sword in one hand and sprung towards the princess. Her reflexes acted quickly, attempting to parry with the bow’s neck. She braced herself, becoming easily overpowered by the man’s weight and twisted away from him quickly. She drew the sword at her hip in time for his follow through. Steel clashed against steel.

A hand on Esme’s shoulder startled her. She met the amber-red eyes of a Sheikah who tried her best to express that she wasn’t in danger.

“Please, come with me.”

Esme wanted to argue in favor of helping the princess.

“We can only leave him to her. Quickly now.”

At that, she acquiesced and took the woman’s hand. Ducking through a series of alleyways, the Sheikah seemed to know this town better than Esme did. Finally at the town square, she led her to a pair wearing traditional garb. Their faces were covered, but when they saw the woman leading her, they stood.

“Let us go inside,” the smaller of the two said, she took her hand gingerly and Esme turned to thank the one that found her, she was gone.

“Always in a hurry,” she tsked. Her hair was cut to her shoulders and despite her stature, she had no problem carrying Esme inside the house. The fire of before seemed dampened now.

“They must have found him,” the man exasperated, following them inside. “Did you even scout the area? What about those bokolins?”

She gasped at the accusation, wriggling her mask down to glare with full effect. “Um, yes, Robbie. I did. I sent those little soldier boys over.”

Robbie scoffed.

“My name is Purah,” she said with a smile a little too bright and motioned for her to sit. They were in a hallway where a skinny bench sat. Immediately, she saw a dampened Mrs. Hutchinson sitting on the same bench.

“Margaret!” Esme smiled. “You’re safe.”

Purah raised a brow, “Oh good you know one another. The ankle, is it?”

In response, she nodded.

“Are you well, dear?” Mrs. Hutchinson said, enveloping Esme’s hand in hers.

She sobered up, remembering sharply that this woman’s husband was dead. “I am. Thank you. I believe the princess saved me.”

The woman blinked, “Princess Zelda? I found her and her group on the way to your farm.”

“How miraculous,” Esme winced as Purah rotated her ankle.

“Pardon,” she said under thick glasses. “I may be a doctor but my medicine for alive things is a bit rough.”

As Purah examined her ankle, the Sheikah woman of before returned with the princess beside her. Through the small window, Esme watched as they were chattering together and only stopping when a group of men returned with reports. There were at least a dozen men and women, all carrying some sort of weaponry, scurrying through the village either looking through debris or taking the remaining monsters.

The princess’s clothes were slightly more disheveled , but before she could examine further Esme’s thoughts were cut off.

Purah sniffed, “Sprained – probably. According to my calculations, I’m pretty sure.”

“Not that confident, it seems.”

“Robbie, shush!”

Attempting to put weight on it, Esme stood and braced the wall. It wasn’t as bad as she expected.

Robbie opened the door for her and when she hobbled down the steps, she caught Zelda’s attention.

“Your Highness-”

At that, she shot up from the conversation she was in.

“Just Zelda,” she remediated, softening the hurry in her speech. “Please. Did he hurt you?”

Esme bit the inside of her lip. “No, I fell… though I was convinced he would. Thank you.”

“He most likely would have,” the Sheikah woman beside the princess muttered.

Zelda politely acknowledged her before smiling graciously at Esme. “Of course.”

There was a sharp tear through one of Zelda’s sleeves with the faint trace of red. She didn’t seem bothered by it. Purah went about looking at it with a gruff series of mumbling.

“You really should be evacuated,” Zelda spoke up again. “This area is only miles from Castle Town. The creatures here are stronger.”

“Forgive me but… I didn’t know it was true. The hero,” Esme swallowed her nerves. “He’s….”

Purah’s chattering stopped and even the soldiers’ side conversation settled to silence. The group came to a standstill. The only sound came from several men working on outing the fires.

Zelda worried her lip between her teeth. “It happened during the Calamity. We think that somehow Calamity Ganon infected his body with Malice. I’m unsure what it amounts to…”

The Sheikah woman put a hand on her shoulder when she trailed off. Her voice was cool, prepared, “He is the Calamity Ganon’s adversary now. We’re in the midst of stopping him.”

So, the tales were true. And like that, the Sheikah commenced once more into delivering orders to the men and women putting out the fire. Zelda met her eyes with a subdued smile, “Again, I implore you to take as many people to the evacuation zones. They’re the same as planned prior to Calamity Ganon. Do you need a guide?”

“No, actually, I’ve come from the settlement near Rito Village. I’m looking for my husband.” Hope flooded Esme’s breast. “His name is Benji Feidelm.”

Slight confusion screwed the princess’s lips together until her face slacked slightly, she turned to Robbie and asked a soft question. He nodded and walked away towards the smoking buildings.

“He’s been a fantastic help,” she smiled again.

Only moments later, cheeks marred with soot, she saw him. His hair was that same mussy brown that she’d grown to love so much. Ben’s eyes met hers, widened, then ran up to wrap his arms around her. Her feet left the ground while in his embrace and she couldn’t help but laugh as tears escaped her eyes.

When he put her down, she punched him squarely in the shoulder.

The princess watched kindly but left soon after.

Eventually, the commotion died down to make camp in the village square. Benji and Esme insisted that their farmhouse be used, but the group who followed the princess refused in place for the tents they packed. They hadn’t been soldiers’ after all, well, not all of them. As Benji had explained, they were people who were willing to thwart Ganon in any way they could – no matter how menial.

Zelda placed a hand on her arm, partially steering her away from the campfire songs.

“I’m sorry,” she lowered her voice and glanced behind her at Impa, who was caught in an argument between Purah and Robbie. “But was Link telling you something? Before I intervened?”

Esme searched her, taking in the slight glimmer in her green eyes. She was a beautiful girl, but it wouldn’t be so surprising. She was the Princess of Hyrule. As she waited, there was intelligence within her, guiding her.

“I wish I knew what he meant. He said that my hair and eyes were the wrong colors,” she frowned at the short-sighted answer. Esme was smart. She’d fallen in love with the legends of heroes and princesses. They were a staple story in her family, so she had an inkling of an answer. “I believe he was looking for you.”

Briefly, Zelda’s face softened. Her brows knitted together and her eyes grew. Esme reached for her, as any woman would to comfort another, but she had already regrouped. Her jaw set and she added a plastic smile.

“I see, thank you.”

Esme watched her leave the square altogether.

#IM LATE I KNOW #im busy man #whumptober2020 #no.5 #failed escape #loz #tw blood #tw death #legend of zelda #corrupted!link #zelda #link #zelink

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goldleafacrossyourlips · 4 years

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Uneasy Lies the Head - Dark Lord/OC - CAOS - Chapter 1

Chapters - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13

Chapter 1 - Foxglove and Mint

Traveling had never been Samara’s favourite activity. Well, that’s not entirely true. Samara loved to experience different cultures and sights, however the long distance teleportation was always bothersome. The disorientation mixed with the power drain always made for a rough landing. So needless to say, Samara avoided long distance travel like the plague. This time though, avoidance was impossible.

Samara loved her Aunties, more than anything. Aunt Hilda was like the mom she never had; always there with a warm hug and sweets. She gave the best advice on matters of the heart. While Aunt Zelda was much the opposite. Aunt Zelda was the one Samara went to for quick, cold-hearted solutions to problems she was having. Aunt Hilda was the heart of the relationship while Aunt Zelda was the head. Both strong women had helped shape Samara into the young woman she was today.

So when Auntie Z had invited her to her wedding during their weekly mirror scrying, Samara had been quick to agree. Rarely had she ever seen her severe Auntie, glowing with happiness and pride. It made Samara warm with joy to see her Aunt Zelda so content. However, that warm feeling soon drained with dread at hearing the name of who her Auntie was marrying.

Faustus Blackwood was a worm of a man; at least in the eyes of Samara Spellman. With ridiculously misogynistic ideals and bullheaded to boot, he was the reason Samara had fled the Greendale witch community. Her Auntie Z, however, held the High Priest on a pedestal in her mind. In an abstract way Samara understood why Aunt Zelda would be proud to marry Faustus. The honor of marrying a High Priest on top of the power he held, would be attractive to any smart witch. His deplorable behaviour was enough to outweigh any positives there might have been by marrying the slug; in Samara’s opinion at least. Her Auntie Z, obviously, held a much different opinion.

Knowing of the disdain Samara held for Faustus Blackwood, Zelda made her promise to be on her best behaviour and to not ruin this important event. The love and respect Samara held for her Aunt far outweighed the disgust she held for the High Priest; so Samara agreed to her Aunt’s request. Thus began the wedding preparations and planning. Samara was to arrive the day before the wedding and would be staying in the Spellman house with her cousins Ambrose and Sabrina. Aunties Z and Hilda would be staying at the Academy of Unseen Arts that night.

Which brought Samara to her current standpoint. A travel bag rested in the crook of her elbow while her familiar, Phlox, leaned against her calf. The red fox had become used to teleportation with his witch and assumed his usual position. Samara offered a small smile down to her familiar and adjusted the lapels of her long dark grey travelling coat. She ran through a mental checklist to make sure she had everything she would need and that everything in her tiny home was safe to stay. The fresh foxglove and mint hanging in the kitchen would hopefully be dried by the time she returned home. She had ideas for enhancing some potions that she wanted to try. For instance perhaps the use of mint would help mask the sickly sweet flavour in all sleep potions. Maybe dried foxglove was more potent in those sleep potions after it had a chance to dry and get all the unnecessary moisture out.

Samara shook her head as her thoughts tried to run from her. She was avoiding teleporting.

“Say goodbye to Vail, Phlox. We’ll be back soon. Lanucae magicae,” As soon as the words left her lips, the world around them blurred and they were specs coursing through time and space. Teleporting felt simultaneously like the weightlessness of falling from a height and being shoved inside a tube that was 4 sizes too small; and the further the teleportation was, the stronger that feeling became. Altogether it was a very disorienting and unpleasant experience. Which was Samara’s excuse when she landed on her knees in the Spellman’s living room. The first sounds she heard were her Auntie Hilda’s squeal of excitement and her Auntie Z’s scoff of irritation.

“Honestly Samara. You’ve been teleporting since you were 16 and you still can’t land standing? What are you learning in Colorado?” Auntie Z’s voice was full of exasperation and fondness.

“Oh never you mind your Auntie Z. My darling Samara! My gorgeous girl! Look at you! All grown up! Oh my, you look famished! Come come, let’s get some yummies into you.” Aunt Hilda grasped her hand and coaxed her to the dining table. Zelda followed close behind. Before Samara sat, she encased her taller Aunt in a tight hug.

“I know I’ve already congratulated you on your upcoming nuptials but still, I’m happy you’re happy Auntie Z,” Samara’s grin was wide as she looked up at her stiff Aunt. Affection had never come easily from her Aunt Zelda. It was always a hard earned reward. Once Samara had grown older, she found it amusing to initiate gentle affections with her cold aunt and watch the woman grow uncomfortable at the suddenness.

Samara had taken after her Aunt Hilda in many ways. Many of those being her ease with comfort and affection. Samara was always quick with a warm hug and soft words. She also took up after her Aunt in ways of cooking and potion making. Her Aunt Zelda had passed along her rational mind and Samara was ever thankful. It would’ve been too easy to let her caring nature rule her life if it wouldn’t have been for the sensible thinking that Zelda had drilled into her from a painfully young age. So Samara was able to keep her soft heart available for those who needed it most and not every bleeding thing she saw. Her family, though, would always be ones that she held near and dear to her heart.

“Yes, yes. The Spellman name will once again hold greatness and honour. The Anti-Pope himself is blessing us at our wedding. Isn’t that just marvelous?” Zelda’s head was held high as she spoke and expertly extricated herself from Samara’s hold. The young witch internally rolled her eyes. As far as the witching community cared the Spellman name was not in turmoil or despair. However in her Auntie Z’s eyes, with her cousin Sabrina’s recent antics, their name was.

Samara had been kept abreast of any and all activities and schemes her dear cousin was up to. Between refusing to sign the Book of the Beast, her antics at the Academy and her troubles with her mortal friends, the rest of their small family was in quite the tizzy. Samara couldn’t blame the young witch though.

She remembered her own hesitancies when she had to sign the Book. Much like her cousin she didn’t want to lose her freedom and choice. But at her Aunts’ insistences she had reluctantly ambled to her Dark Baptism. She could recall the night beginning bitterly cold. Her black lace dress had brushed the sides of her thighs as her bare feet crunched the dead leaves beneath her feet. The forest was abysmally dark besides the glowing in the grove she was headed. The arch of branches had lit and waited to deem her worthy of entering. Samara could remember the prey fear she felt tightening her spine and settling like a stone in her belly; the anxiety that constricted her chest and made her mind tingle. She had stopped before the branches, her eyes wide as they consumed they blue hellfire scared that she’d be deemed unworthy and burned for her troubles. Her thoughts had left her and all that’d remained was worry and fear. She’d been ready to turn and run. Run from the Coven and their expectations. Just as her foot had begun to step back, she’d frozen. In what seemed like a heartbeat, her anxiety and worry disappeared. In their place sat warmth and reassurance; like an ivy vine curling around her body. She could breathe. Where once she worried about her loss of self as a person, there was something there assuring her that she’d be safe, always. It had been enough to straighten her spine and walk through the hellfire that caressed her skin like feathers. She had stood beside her Aunties, two beautiful pillars of strength that they were. She had looked upon Father Blackwood, her mind screaming wrong, bad, stay away as the man approached her. She knew it wasn’t to do with the Dark Baptism but rather the man itself. Her shoulders had tensed as he drew a sigil on her forehead. Her teeth had clenched as he drew the blade across her palm. She had ignored his curious gaze as the wound healed near instantly once the blood had dropped onto the Book. Just as she had picked up the quill and readied it to sign her name, she felt it. The lightest caress at the junction where her shoulder met her neck. Knowing it was something otherworldly since Blackwood stood across from her. Samara had taken comfort in it and assumed it was what gave her strength to enter the clearing. With that renewed strength, she signed her name with a flourish. Intense joy and contentment has filled her as the sky ricocheted with bright lightning. In that moment, she had never felt more at home.

Her reminiscing was brought to a halt as her Aunt Z drew her attention once more.

“As glad as I am to see you Samara, I must head back to the Academy and prepare for tomorrow. I will see you then.” Her Aunt had nodded and away she went. Samara watched her walk away with fondness; able to see the nerves beneath her aunt’s skin.

“She really is happy to have you home, Samara. We all are.” Aunt Hilda placed a little cup of tea on a saucer with sweets. Samara happily nibbled on her Aunt’s offerings. She missed her Aunt’s cooking and baking the most when she originally left.

“I’m happy to be back Aunt Hilda. I’ve missed all of you so much.” Samara had looked up at her Aunt to show the earnestness she felt. Hilda was quick to smile and squeeze her hand at her seat beside her. Her smile turned slightly pleading.

“Perhaps, what with Zelda marrying the High Priest, you might be convinced to join us again. I’m sure there’s loads of things you could teach Sabrina. And we would be overjoyed if you’d stay!” Aunt Hilda squeezed her hand again, rubbing her thumb back and forth over Samara’s hand. Samara had chuckled and looked away.

“I think it’s for the best that I stay in Colorado. As much as I miss and want to stay with you guys, I couldn’t become a part of the Church of Night here. Besides, I’ve made a home for myself in Vain. The Coven there and the townspeople wouldn’t know what to do without my herbs and brews. On another note, even with Auntie Z marrying Blackwood, I doubt I could stay in the same room as him for long.” Samara’s tone had taken on a darker quality. Phlox had quickly come to Samara’s side as her mood started to shift. He was quick to rub along her legs and nip the cookie from her fingers. Succeeding in lifting her mood, he settled down with her snack as Samara laughed and lightly scolded him.

“I figured it was worth a try. No matter, luv. How do you feel helping me get rid of a problem for Zelds?” Hilda was pleased at the mischievous smile her niece shot at her.

“Anything for you guys. What’s the plan?”

“Well first, we’re going to have to visit the potion pantry, then we’re going to bake some biscuits.” Samara’s mind was quick to shoot off possibilities her Aunt was meaning. She had always loved helping her Aunt cook and bake. It was what got her so interested in potion making and with her Aunt’s help she had quickly excelled in that area. Samara was quick to gesture to her Aunt to lead the way.

“I’d be thrilled to share with you some of my experiments I’ve done with potions and food.”

“Well my darling, I’m open to suggestions.”

#chilling adventures of sabrina #coas #dark lord x oc #dark lord x reader #fanfiction #fanfic #satan x reader #satan x oc #ofc #lucifer morningstar x reader #lucifer morningstar x oc #sabrina #spellman #zelda #ambrose #hilda

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lozbotwfanart · 4 years

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Saying goodbye to Hyrule Pride Week

Here we are at the end of Hyrule Pride Week. It’s sad, but true. The week seemed to go by too fast, and my desire to keep celebrating all the LGBTQIA+ pride from the Zelda fandom just kept growing.

I want to thank each. And. Every. Person. Who contributed to Hyrule Pride Week. There would be no celebration without your efforts in creation. I absolutely adored everything that you wonderful and creative people had to offer. Rest assured, someone out there will see your art and be opened to the possibilities that your artist mind has envisioned. I have certainly taken in more creative possibilities that I may expound upon later in my art. All because of you.

This last day is a celebration of Everyone! Everyone who falls under the whole LGBTQIA+ umbrella. We must always remember that we are so much stronger together than we are apart. To gather as many wandering and lost souls into our flock is our greatest strength. Individual colors may be pretty on their own, but to see the whole color spectrum on full display simply cannot be matched in beauty.

I have learned a lot about hosting this event. There are many, many things I wish I could have done differently. There are things that I could have made more clear, there are things that I could have explained a little better. I am willing to keep going to next year, and perhaps the year after that, and the year after that, etc., interest pending. I will certainly take the lessons and feedback from this year and apply them into an even better event for next year. But being a first foray into this sort of thing, I would say that I have had more success than I could have imagined. I thank you so much for being understanding and patient as I have tried to figure out the best course of action. I didn’t get it right this time, but I am only human.

But, Pride should never stop just because we are no longer focusing solely on it. There is nothing written saying that every month, every day, every hour can’t have some small celebration of our true selves. To make art that reflects ourselves. To give hope to others who may be struggling to discover themselves. To hold mirrors up so that the possibilities may be reflected for the world to see. I may be no longer hosting, but the invitation to create is always open and always has been.

Thank you so much! Hyrule just got a little bit more colorful.

#hyruleprideweek #pride #irisadiels posts #legend of zelda #loz #zelda

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seekingseven · 4 years

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8, 10, and 11 for Deck Legend Please: The Fic uwu

BAHAHA when I first saw this ask I cackled aloud, what a fantastic way to describe the story! But I did want to take a moment to be serious and express how absolutely humbled I am by all the positive reception this story is getting. I was used to my stories never getting any more than a hundred hits and perhaps half a dozen kudos at best, so the overwhelming amount of love this story is getting is something I’m still struggling to comprehend. I’m so so so glad to be able to make something that you all enjoy, what an absolute honor and blessing to slap some words together in a way that can entertain others...it just...it blows my mind. ;_;

Alright, to the ask!

Based off of the fic ask meme

++++++++++++++++++

(8) Did any real people or events inspire any part of it?

Hmmm, this is a really interesting question! There isn’t one event in particular that inspired the whole story, more like a small smattering of in-real-life experiences that (thematically) undergird the entire story. For example, if you didn’t know, I’m a bit of a Bible nerd, and I spend a lot of time studying the New and Old Testament. Job 1, Isaiah 6 and Luke 8 were both major inspirations to me in the context of divine glory and majesty (they haven’t played a part in the story thus far, but they will), and the story of losing oneself to addiction is majorly inspired by NF’s “How Could You Leave Us” and Witt Lowry’s “OXYGIN.” Those two songs have literally changed the way I see the world, and I’m so glad for the shift in perspective they’ve inspired in me. All those things together have played a major part in determining the story's trajectory and general themes.

(10) Why did you choose this pairing for this particular story?

What an interesting way to phrase this question! I’m assuming you’re talking about the friendship between Legend and Hyrule, as there aren’t any romantic pairings in the story. I never set out for the story to become a study and subsequent deconstruction of their relationship, but I realized that if anyone is going to be affected by the fallout of Legend’s mirror obsession, it’s going to be Hyrule. After all, Hyrule’s always looked up to the Hero of Legend, and their dynamic straddles the line between brotherly and, occasionally, fatherly, so the traveler would be hit hardest by the effects of Legend’s guilt and isolation. However, Hyrule’s general spunk, hopefulness, and intelligence will have a major role to play in the happy ending. Yes, there will be a happy ending to this fic, I promise!

(11) What do you like best about this fic?

Hm, that’s a really good question! My initial answer would be the themes of the story, but those haven’t really come into play yet, they’re only in my outline. Perhaps, then, my favorite part of the story would be how Legend’s mistakes affect Hyrule. I’ve tried to keep it sensitive, sincere, and realistic as possible, but there’s no way that Legend’s massive transgressions aren’t going to hurt the people he knows best. Mistakes like this are bound to hurt those closest to the mistake-maker, and Legend’s no exception. I’m very excited to develop the themes of this story more, the only thing that I’m just as excited about might be the following Hyrule-centric chapters. I have a lot planned, and I really hope you all enjoy it!!

Here is a link to the story, if you’re interested!

If you've sent in an ask and it still hasn't been answered, please know that I'm working on one now!! Feel free to send in more asks if you have any, but no pressure, of course!

#fic ask meme #tmskol

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excorcismic · 4 years

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you ever have that one muse that’s just like . . . no matter how many characters you play , not matter how much time goes by , you will never get sick of writing that muse & they’re such a huge comfort character and mean the world to you ?? YES , that’s me with miss zelda here . i . . . love zelda ( the character and the series ) with every fiber of my being and after a lot of debate i finally decided i’d bring her here !! i’m doing leon’s intro next and will try to get to replies ( want to get down zel’s intro soon but i’d like to plot things first ) afterwards but pls pls pls here’s a detailed plotting call for my princess !! pls like / react if you’re interested - or let me know if we’re already plotting !!

IN A CANON NUTSHELL : so this zelda is the princess from the masterpiece known as breath of the wild - one hundred years before the events of the game , she was kind of the ‘leader’ of the champions , a group of people who were tasked to aid in protecting hyrule once calamity ganon rose again . link , who was also a champion , was assigned as her personal knight - in the beginning . . . she did not like him for the fact that he seemed to have everything under control and she didn’t . why ?? well , zelda , from birth , was told she had to unlock a power in herself that would potentially save hyrule from the calamity , and for some reason , no matter how hard she tried , she couldn’t do it . and she was mad at herself for feeling like a failure when she was put under an intense amount of pressure from her father & the prophecy - even called the heir to a throne of nothing because of how no results came from her ceaseless prayers . EVENTUALLY , her powers would reveal themselves . . . but only after the calamity arrived , all of the champions had been downed ( save for link , on the verge of death ) , and all seemed lost . but she would use her power to protect hyrule & keep the calamity contained inside hyrule castle until link would awaken and finish him off .

IN AN ALUCARD NUTSHELL : so zelda . daughter of a preacher ( father ) & a lawyer ( mother , now deceased ) , always expected to be the picture perfect child hence why she never got much of a chance to have a break from endless studying & extra things . she’s always been a straight-a student , has done fencing since she was a child , trilingual in english spanish & mandarin chinese , now a star college student majoring in biology ( her own choice , because she loves science ) and minoring in law ( because her father wants her to be a lawyer like her mother & she uhh hates it ! ) she’s seen as ‘little miss perfect’ because she can do so much and never seems to do any wrong but zelda is uhhh sick of that and is actually now trying to rebel against her father and throw herself into trouble . since lowkey all of this shit is killing her and she wants to breathe freely . she’s trying to do what she wants to do hence why she’s majoring in bio instead of law , working at the local florist instead of taking a law internship , actually trying to pursue a social life outside of the people her dad approves of . that stuff . she’s basically a genius who wants to say ‘fuck u’ to the people telling her what to do and go on her own path and i think that’s sexy .

BUT OHHHHHHHHHH YOU WANNA PLOT WITH ZELDA SO BAD OHHHHHHH

so zelda . given her situation ?? there is so much to work with . lemme spout off these ideas bc i’m so fucking excited .

firstly - people who know about her little miss perfect reputation and either dislike her or are intimidated by her for it . zelda isn’t a snob in the slightest but with someone who does as much as she does it’s only natural to assume she is . but she isn’t , i promise ; she hates that being her epithet .

kind of building off the idea of people knowing abt her whole ‘lmp’ thing - i’d love some folks who actually entertain zelda’s desires to break away from that and take her out to do rebellious shit or something like that !! because zelda wants to get the fuck out she hates it here .

some who encourage her and some who do the opposite - ‘you can do it, don’t be scared’ vs. ‘you really don’t belong here so go back to your books and pencils’

maybe ppl who hold zelda to some sort of pedestal bc of her reputation ?? which is equally as bad to her - she’s lowkey crumbling under all these expectations and she’s amazing but to be seen as someone . . . above other people , she doesn’t like that at all .

also those folks who in any grade of school rly have tried to exploit her need to get good grades & genius to their advantage aka if i pair up with the smart kid we’ll get an a guaranteed . can be anywhere - could’ve been in the past or could be now .

CLASSMATES in general . from elementary , middle school , high school for the past , and now college classmates .

study buddies !! study buddies that zelda either vibes with immensely in terms of how she works or butts heads with them . her way of thinking is both incredibly organized but also all over the place . she can be either very easy or difficult to work with .

gimme some school rivals or equals aka ppl that zelda’s on par with in terms of intellect/grades and either they fucking hate each other or make a pretty good team . maybe both ! put the smart ppl in a room together and see what happens .

also want to clarify this can be on both the bio or law side for any of these college-based connections bc zelda is taking both she’s just . way more passionate about biology than she is law .

OLD FENCING TEAMMATES OR RIVALS PLEASE yes she is still fencing to this day and she’s awesome at it . she’s got a shitton of medals and she actually likes it but it’s another thing that was forced upon her since she was young .

her dad is a local preacher so by nature she’s always expected to be at church so ppl who know her as the preacher’s daughter/from church bc imma keep it real zelda ain’t that enthused abt that religion either but again . once again have to fill father’s expectations . one day tho she’s just gonna stop showing up .

i’d like maybe a social circle who zelda’s father approves of ?? like , friends who zelda has but they’re more so just bc that’s what mr. king wanted . i’d also like a partner/ex-partner to fit this description aka zelda’s not rly that into it or was into it bc it was again . kinda just ‘i’m just dating you bc my dad approves of you’ kinda deal and maybe she tried but overall . didn’t/doesn’t work .

i also , though , like the idea of a social circle who zelda’s father would never approve of and she hangs w/ them bc maybe she likes them or maybe she also just wants to prove a point . maybe she dated someone for this reason too - just the whole spectrum of ‘what dad wants vs. what dad wasn’t’ bc pissing off her dad is kind of a major goal at this point .

so maybe regular customers of the flower shop she works at - she just . zelda rly loves flowers & nature ( and again science as a whole , especially life science hence biology ) and she can go off on so many tangent about flowers please talk to her about flowers . maybe even bring her some flowers too jk unless

i’d rly find it awesome if zelda had some ppl who maybe liked her enough to follow her when she goes out just studying things and listen to her bc she loves to talk about her passions - she likes taking hikes and trips out into nature or the botanical gardens and stuff like that to do studies / experiments of her own . she likes museums , gardens , the outdoors - zelda loves knowledge and learning about things and if someone just kept her company while she did so that’d be awesome .

i’m a sucker for canon parallels with non-canon characters so . maybe a relationship that doesn’t rly have any specificity in what portion of zelda’s life ( school , father approved social circle , father disapproved social circle , night life etc etc ) but mirrors her relationship with link in breath of the wild - for whatever reason , zelda and this other character are around each other very frequently and the beginning for some reason she is very put off by it but then comes around and eventually this muse , they become extremely closer with her and important to her . in any way !! idk if it’s platonic or romantic but , in rps like this that’s lowkey my jam but it works the best with miss zelda

AS ALWAYS - friends ! enemies ! former crushes ! exes ! gimme anything and all !! the princess of hyrule is AT YOUR SERVICE and i’m so excited to write her . i love her .

and now . . . onto leon’s intro i hopefully go .

#dhq.plots #░ ★ abt . ❛ ᴀɴᴅ ɪᴛ ᴇᴄʜᴏᴇs ᴡʜᴇɴ ɪ ʙʀᴇᴀᴛʜᴇ﹐ ·ᴛɪʟ ᴀʟʟ ʏᴏᴜ sᴇᴇ ɪs ᴍʏ ɢʜᴏsᴛ / zelda #parental death mention

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fictionalatelier · 4 years

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ok like i’m not even waiting for any outside confirmation, here is the first chapter i wrote

(here’s the information post i wrote about it)

pls let me know if you would like to read more!!!! i’m probably going to continue it regardless but if you’d actually like to see it update on ao3 let me know,,,,,

...

It started off more as a suggestion. Or, it could have been interpreted as a command, really.

Either way, Shad knew he had an important job to do.

Link had long since returned the master sword to its slumbering place in the Lost Woods and returned to Ordon.

Few people knew, or cared to check, how he was doing after this turn of events.

Sure, he had saved Hyrule, but very few people actually cared what Link endured.

At least himself, Zelda, Midna, and the goddesses themselves knew who he was and what he had gone through. But back in Ordon Village and even Castle Town, he was a strange face against thousands.

That’s why Rusl suggested what he did.

“Shad, my boy, if I’m not intruding… would you consider coming back to Ordon and providing Link some company?”

Shad looked up from his books spread across the table and blinked. Sure, he had helped Link through his journey, but he wasn’t sure what made him in specific so qualified to help the young hero.

“It’s just…” Rusl started, as he shifted at his usual spot at Telma’s bar, “...that since he’s returned back to Ordon, he hasn’t been acting himself. I racked my brain thinking of everyone who would know him best, and you came up first.”

Shad was taken aback.

“Me?” he asked incredulously to his long-time friend. “What could I possibly provide Link? I mean- thank you for the opportunity- but what could I in specific help him with?”

Rusl sighed. “It’s just… since helping Princess Zelda and going through… his ordeal to rid Hyrule of its twilight,” he said through measured words, “Link hasn’t been the same. I thought someone he knew and someone of a similar age would help him feel more used to normal life, more grounded.”

“But… what about Ilia?” Shad asked. He at least knew at least enough about Link that Ilia was one of his lifelong best friends that grew up with him in Ordon.

“Oh, Ilia!” Rusl replied. “Thanks to her work on our town and our livestock, she’s been invited by the princess herself to work in the royal stables.” Rusl flashed a smile at Shad before looking back at the table. “So, she won’t be around Ordon much anymore these days.”

“Oh…” Shad trailed off. Honestly, he hadn’t known much of what to do with himself after Link had discovered the secrets of the City in the Sky and the Oocoo. Shad remembered fondly as he worked with Link to uncover the secrets, unaware at the time at how it would help the hero in his journey, but completely enthralled nonetheless to help.

Yes, he thought assuredly, I could get used to helping Link some more.

Back in Ordon, Link had concluded his day of work at sunset. Some time had passed since everything had ended, and his hair had grown longer. Well, it had been growing the whole time he was on his adventure, as haircuts weren’t his number one priority, but he had been able to stuff it in his cap. Now, back at home, he kept his hair tied in a low ponytail.

As he started methodically preparing for the end of the day, about to ascend the ladder into his tree house, he was greeted with noise from behind him.

“Link!” a voice called out to him.

He looked at the trail leading up to his house, where Rusl and Shad were making their way towards him. Rusl had always been like a father figure to him, and Shad had helped him immensely during his quest, so both were very welcome faces.

“Link!” Rusl said. “I’m glad I caught you. Shad’s staying in Ordon to focus on his research.”

“Oh?” Link’s raised eyebrow seemed to ask.

“Well, it’s just that as I thought of places that would be quiet enough to focus, Ordon came to mind. Shad here’s working on some amazing stuff!” Rusl clapped his hand down on Shad’s shoulder and he almost seemed crushed under the weight. Sure, Shad could keep his own, but he still much preferred to read by the lamplight than wrestle goats, thank you very much.

Link smiled. Rusl and Shad had been two of the people of the resistance who helped him fight back against the growing darkness in Hyrule. They both had a special place in his heart.

“I’d be happy to house him,” Link signed back.

“Great!” Rusl replied. “Because I’ve got nowhere else for him to go.” He laughed as he lightly pushed Shad towards Link’s house.

“Link, I… thank you for letting me stay with you,” Shad said. “I’m starting a new chapter into my research of the history of Hyrule’s past, and Castle Town has too much hustle and bustle for me to quite focus enough.”

Link smiled. Now this was a change in his daily routine that he could look forward to, he thought.

Link wasn’t used to having guests in his house. Sure, his tree house was fairly large, but it had just been him in there his entire life.

Well, he thought, except for those few months where no one ventured inside, where, after his return, a fine layer of dust had covered everything…

He shook his head to rid himself of the thought. What was done was done, and now, in the current moment, he had a guest to attend to.

“Thank you so much for letting me stay here,” Shad said as he clumsily spilled some of his workbooks and papers onto Link’s main table. “I’m very sorry for any intrusion I may have caused.”

Link snorted. “Trust me, there wasn’t much going on here anyway,” he signed. Shad was one of the few people outside of his hometown of Ordon that understood Link’s signing, and for that he was grateful.

“Well, thank you regardless, old boy!” Shad chirped as he tried to make sense of his mess of papers.

“It’s honestly my pleasure,” Link signed back.

For now, Shad set up a cot on one of the many levels that jutted out from the walls of Link’s tree house.

“We can figure out an actual bed situation at some point,” Link signed to the other man with a slight smile. “But I hope for now that this is comfortable enough.”

“Yes, yes, of course it is!” Shad practically beamed. “The ability to stay in such a place that’s so disconnected from the noise of the world and so close to nature is amazing! And, of course, the fact that you made room for me with no forewarning,” he finished with a light blush to the tips of his ears.

“Honestly, it’s nothing to worry about,” Link signed to him. “It’s actually nice to have a change of pace,” he signed with a slight chuckle.

“Oh. Oh! Well, I’m glad to provide whatever I can,” Shad said with a smile.

That night, after Link had climbed to the top floor of his tree house and laid in bed, he stared down at Shad. He had seemed comfortable enough to fall asleep, his chest lightly rising up and down, his glasses folded neatly off to the side.

As Link watched, he wasn’t sure what to think about. He had just gotten back into the monotonous way of farm life after returning the master sword (after the breaking of the mirror), and this was… well, this was a new hurdle in his life. Not necessarily a bad one, he thought, but something… new. Well, he thought to himself, all I can do from here is see where this leads me. He turned away from where he was staring at Shad to face the small window on the wall.

Outside, the moon was only a sliver full.

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jq37 · 5 years

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The Report Card – Fantasy High Sophomore Year Ep 3

Thanks, I Hate It!

This week, we move forward by first jumping backwards. Last episode, the Bad Kids found that Riz and Fig were missing. Now, we get to see what happened in the meantime. Riz was in his office, trying to put together anything new on the Nightmare King. We’re reminded that his sword--the Sword of Shadows which he got from the arcade and lets him misty step (also, which he used to kill Kalvaxus)--was made by Tabaxi ninjas (seemingly relevant considering the whole Shadowcat thing). He notices that, in his photo, Kalina’s image doesn’t look as time-worn as the rest of it, as if only the part where she appears was protected. He hears a noise and goes to investigate. What he finds, is a creepy-ass nightmare skeleton person in the mirror claiming to be Baron, from the Baronees (the person he on the fly lied--poorly--that he was dating in ep 1). Respecting the fact that Murph never clarified whether Baron was a guy or a girl, Brennan has Baron exclusively refer to themselves as Riz’s R̵̪̹̄o̸̱͝m̸͔͔̂̽a̴͕̾̈́n̵͙̬͒c̸̣̏͠ḙ̸̃̓ ̶̞̇̕P̸̞͚̈́a̸͉͒͝r̴̛͈͈t̷͓͇̋͒n̸̬͛̈́e̴̮̒r̴̝̃̓ in this mega-cursed, fake Swedish(?) accent.

Thanks, I hate it.

Riz, faced with his lie brought to life, is pretty freaked and tries to shoot it but he’s quickly subdued and dragged into the mirror. Luckily, he’s able to leave the photo for his friends to find.

Meanwhile, Fig spent the night in a weird fugue state--almost like an enjoyable nightmare. Most of her focus is on this feeling of isolation, fame, and power--but in a good way. In the background, she’s doing some unimportant stuff. You know, packing her stuff, stealing a gem, trapping Gorthalax in it, and going to Bastion City. No big deal. Anyway, that brings us back to the present with the rest of our party.

They make it to Bastion City and, more importantly, the hotel where Fig is supposed to be. On the way, Adaine tries to detect magic on Sandra-Lynn to try and figure out why she can see the photograph but nothing comes up. At the hotel, they unsuccessfully try to get the concierge to tell them where Fig’s room is. Adaine detects that the receptionist has some kind of transmutation on them and her first thought is, “Magic plastic surgery.” She dispels it. Not magic plastic surgery. The concierge is a demon--which is different and worse than devils who are at least lawful and, like, part of the bureaucracy of punishing people who deserve it.

Anyway, fight time! A lot happens during this fight so I’m going to try and highlight the most important parts:

All the employees in the immediate area turn into various demons to fight the party.

Adaine and Kristen catch sight of Fig’s room number (downstairs penthouse) right before the fight starts and, at the top of the initiative, Adaine goes invisible and runs for the elevator.

Fabian vaults of Gilear’s face--unnecessarily--and rolls a nat 20.

Gilear (who has FIVE hit points) ducks and covers because of course he does. That doesn’t stop him from being completely obliterated by one punch from one of the huge gorilla demons. He freaking DIES. Thanks, I hate it.

Downstairs, Adaine finds a bunch more demons who are with Fig who is clearly being mind controlled. They have Riz strapped to a table and Fig’s about to stab him with a ritualistic knife. Adaine goes for a dispel magic and gets advantage because of Boggy which leads to her rolling *two nat 20s* and snapping her out of it immediately.

In a very boss move, Fig immediately grabs Riz and dimension doors him out of his restraints and them both to the coat check where she left the ruby with Gorthalax. Before they poof out, Riz sees yellow eyes in the shadows. Familiar tabaxi eyes. Seemed like she was calling shots.

Riz gets in a very cool kill with the line, “Tell Daybreak I said hi.”

Fig finds out Gilear is dead and grabs his soul. Kristen heals him up.

Fabian vaults off of Gilear a second time and rolls a nat 1, sending him back into death saves.

Kristen tosses a spare the dying at Gilear and then kisses full wolfed out Tracker because time isn’t of the essence or anything.

Fig grabs the ruby Gorthalax is in and sees that it’s cloudy--cursed somehow to keep them from breaking him out. Not good. She also finds a bunch of other gems which she also grabs.

We meet Kristen’s new spirit guardians which are now hipster Post-Grad philosophy students in a full spectral coffee shop. She finds them insufferable but is also kind of into it.

They clean up the rest of the demons and then Fabian does donuts on the Hangman. And we are out of combat.

Fig is a little distraught about having almost killed Riz and brought them all into this dangerous situation which literally killed Gilear--even though no one else blames her even a little. Gilear has a bit of a breakdown which is fair. The man died. They try to send him home--Fig wants to give him 10k gold and send him on vacation--but he is determined to stay and experience things and be useful. Also, Fabian has it in his (and Gorgug’s) head that Gilear must be some kind of chosen one since one of the demons in the fight chose to attack Gilear over him.

Fig looks through the other gems she got and only one--a Celestial Sapphire--is similar to size to Gorthalax’s. When they bring it out, a slot in Gorgug’s van pops open. They slot the Sapphire in and, through the radio, an Angelic voice speaks to them. He sounds like Owen Wilson and he doesn’t remember his name. The Hangman hates him immediately. Fig pretends to be a cop to get info from the cops that arrive on the scene, doesn’t find out anything useful, but does roll a nat 20 on her deception (come on) and briefly turns the game into the sister, cop-drama show set in the same universe as the Grey’s Anatomy sham-life she’s living, kissing another full adult man. Incredible.

They regroup at a posh restaurant/cafe called The Swan’s Little Parade. Sklonda calls and, after she and Sandra-Lynn do the mom-catch up thing, she has a quick talk with Riz where we find out a few things about Kalina:

She only worked with Pok on missions between Falinel and Solace.

She was great at going invisible and other infiltration things.

(Note: We actually learned this earlier but I wanted to keep this info together)She looks more like a traditional housecat than a big cat like some other tabaxi.

It’s extremely hard to scry on her.

She didn’t attend Pok’s funeral.

The last time Sklonda heard from her was 12ish years ago.

Riz only encountered her a few times as a kid.

Last Sklonda remembers, she reached out to Pok it was something to do with the ship the Oracle sank on.

They pass around the picture to see who can see it and not only does it appear that Ragh can see her (oh, kinda implied this before but Riz can too) he also seemed really bugged out. Tracker says she can use her cleric mojo to put up some wards to (1) keep them from getting mind whammied like Fig did overnight and (2) maybe make Ragh feel safe enough to talk. She also suggests they all sleep in a huge dog pile for safety which I think is great and someone should draw that.

Gorgug gets a text. It’s Zelda. She can’t believe he left without saying goodbye.

Thanks, I hate it.

Detention

Fabian for Using Gilear as a Launch Pad Two (2) Times

This was a top contender for this spot, even before Fabian did this a second time and screwed up so bad (nat 1!) that Gilear dropped to zero again and had to make death saving throws.

Honor Roll

Adaine for Freeing Fig

Listen, I will freely admit that I have a clear bias towards Adaine. You got me. She’s my favorite. HOWEVER, you cannot tell me that going invisible, rushing straight to the elevator, then rolling double nat 20s (a 1/400 chance) to release Fig from domination right before she plunged a knife into Riz’s heart wasn’t the sickest series of events that happened during this ep. What could possibly compete?

Random Thoughts

I’ve been trying to figure out the rhyme or reason to who can see the full photo but I haven’t figured out a pattern yet. It’s not that only people who have seen her before can see her because Sandra-Lynn can see it and she said she’s never met her--although I guess it’s possible that she has and she didn’t recognize her since she’s a super spy. And it’s not a blanket thing on the Bad Kids specifically because Riz can see her. I was hoping they’d show it to more people so we could get a better idea of the rules. Maybe it’s based entirely on if she wants to be seen by that specific person? But then why wouldn’t it default to the blank image. It seems (from our limited POV) that most people can see her. Maybe for most people a blank space would be more suspicious than a random tabaxi? Idk.

Riz forcibly installing himself as Fabian’s best friend and it working is low key the funniest relationship development in FH. I’m so glad Murph and Lou ran with that. Also, the fact that he’s basically accepted that Riz is his best friend but the Hangman hasn’t at all is so good.

Brennan really just shot Zac in the head at point blank range at the end of the episode, huh? He really just did that to our boy. What’s also funny is that, unlike--say--CR where there’s usually at least a good minute of decompression and goodbyes, Brennan just goes for the kill shot and then peaces out immediately. What a power move.

Also, poor Zelda! She’s already so insecure, this isn’t gonna be good for her self esteem. Arguably, there were extenuating circumstances Gorgug can claim but you know that’s only gonna help so much since he def could have at least called/texted her to let her know he had to leave in a hurry because Fig/Riz were missing. I wonder if there’s a section of the binder on this.

For reference, the demons they fight in the hotel lobby are a Cambion, and then several barlgura and skeksis.

“He’s just a guy!” He certainly is. Check out his stats. Hilarious but also, I can’t act like my stats would look that much different.

I truly, truly cannot believe that Emily pulled the exact same hospital stunt again and it resolved in exactly the same way. This is like when I played blackjack with my brother when I was a teenager to teach him that the house always wins and he hit 21 twice in a row.

Also on the topic of Fig, her coming down from her mind control was my favorite part of this episode, for a couple of reasons. I love how sincerely Emily played the immediate shock and horror at what she almost did (closed book my ass). I love how every other person was so happy to get her back. I love that none of them even entertained the thought that she might be dangerous or untrustworthy now. Relationships at the intersection of constant bullying and ride or die are my favorite.

While we’re on the topic of emotional scenes, Gilear full breaking down in the van post-fight was very funny but you also genuinely felt for the guy. It’s been a really long day for the guy and he died like one and a half times. His, “I haven’t experienced anything before this moment,” line really hit me hard. And I think it’s very wild that Brennan set the DC for convincing him to go home at 25 (which Fig did not pass with a 21). It’s very interesting that Gilear’s reaction to this series of events was to double down and be like, I *need* to be here. Seems like this could be a set up for some interesting Gilear development.

The amount of times I have almost typed Balnor is unreal. My brain stores all the middle aged men hanging out with people too young for him to be hanging out with in the same folder.

I can’t believe Adaine just went for that dispel except that I can because she did the exact thing with Iris’ wig at the NY live show and I couldn’t believe that either! I really did not think (1) that was a good move or (2) gonna lead to combat (except for the kind that gets you banned from a hotel). I completely misread that situation. Like, it’s a world full of magic. It’s not that weird that a random person would have a spell on them. Anyway, this is why she’s the oracle and I’m not.

The Barlgura needed a 3 or higher to hit Gilear. He got a 19. Yikes.

“I had to ask.”/ “No you didn’t.” (The crew explodes into laughter.)

Riz tells the whole gang about the Baron thing and tells everyone that they need to stop lying in case all their lies are gonna pop out and attack them. Gorgug admits that he’s kissed the Hangman. Kristen confesses to a group of her closest friends and girlfriend that she is gay. Tracker is like, “Babe, what?” Tracker (and the Bad Kids but in a different way) must really love Kristen because she is just so much all the time.

Fabian: Who are you seeing then?/Riz:...................No one.

Ally Middle Name Beardsly wtf is a paranoia check?

The comedic rhythm of Fabian vaulting off of Gilear’s face with a nat 20, him dying, being resurrected, and the Fabian trying to do it again with a nat 1 and knocking him near death is so perfect that it’s wild that it was totally random. This is the kind of thing that makes you get superstitious about dice.

We’re introduced to Boggy’s second mood this ep which is Boggy’s mood which is a slightly squinted, “Hmm...I don’t know about this.” Thanks, I love it.

In addition to considering Gilear might be the chosen one (by who? Of what? They don’t know and neither do I) the half of the group entertaining this theory also considers Gilear might be the Nightmare King (”If you are you have to tell me. I’m your daughter.”). I don’t know if the NK does possession but please have the NK possess Gilear at some point. If the theme of this season is carefully filing away random off the cuff gags and making them plot relevant, please let this be one of them. Also, lol at Murph trying to roll high enough so that Riz has the knowledge to stop the shenanigans before it derails the whole campaign.

The group bestows upon Gilear the positions of Tour Manager, Social Media Manager, and Honorary Bad Kid (listed last of course).

Fig grabbed a lanyard of out Adaine’s jacket and I remembered, oh yeah, she has a very magical jacket that is only ever used for shenanigans, if at all. Imagine being so magic that you have a magic jacket that you’re always wearing that can summon anything (w/i reason) and you just kinda...forget about it most of the time.

Curious about why Fig specifically was called in to do the sacrifice and why Riz was the one who had to be sacrificed.

I hope Adaine just continues to loan out Boggy to anyone having a bad day. I love that.

“Maybe this is one of those massages that hurt.”

Really wanted Hilariel to Skype in and ask about Gilear. Her take on everything is always so funny. She is as crazy as everyone else in her family but in such a low key way.

Lol at the party being like, “Yeah, Tracker healed me just fine without any 69-ing,” which is truly an incomprehensible sentence without context and still mostly incomprehensible with context.

Don’t wanna overlook the coolness of Fig rolling double 17s (disadvantaged) to command the barlguras. Not magically, just convincing them she was still in charge of them. Very clutch.

Fabian is so much chiller about letting people on his motorbike these days. He let Gilear ride it. He let Riz ride it. He gave a blanket invitation for anyone in the area to hop on before he did donuts. I love Sophomore Fabian.

Gilear gets a nat 20 for his first roll! Riz and Kristen got two nat 20s. Fig got one, Gorgug got one (he rolled a second one that was lost with disadvantage), and Adaine rolled two but they really only count as one since it was with advantage. Fabian rolled one of each. That’s a lot of 20s for one ep!

#fantasy high #fantasy high live #dimension 20 #fantasy high spoilers #report card

71 notes · View notes

ethien · 5 years

Note

How about Link bringing his s/o to one of the Kingdom's balls? P.S., I like your writing :)

Thanks Anon, you’re so cute

Shall we dance?

Genre: Fluff, fluff and more fluff

Words: 3.021

“Aninvitation to the 2nd year of the rebuilding of castle town and thecastle?” you asked Link while you read the formal letter in your hands again.He nods to your question and put a smile on his face.

“As thecaptain of the royal guard, it was clear I got an invitation. And this yearZelda gave me one for you so that I could take you with me” he said to you. Youfeel flattered by it. It was your first invitation to a royal event in thecastle. It was clear to you the day would come after you started a relationshipwith Link. But you didn’t expect it so fast. You both were a couple since oneand a half year and you thought the first invitation would come if you two weremarried. Despite the fact you didn’t know if he wants to marry you.

You fellhow your face heated up a bit. The realization hit you hard with the piece ofpaper in your hands.

“And…Iwould be glad when you are with me” he continued and step forward to you. “So,will you come with me?”

Youaccepted with a short kiss.

“I likethis kind of answer” he chuckled and you playfully slammed on his chest.

“But wehave a little problem” you started and Link looked confused at you. “I don’town any fancy outfit for this occasion”

Link onlysmiled by your question. “Then we travel one day before it to castle town andbuy an outfit. There are a lot of vendors in the city”

“Oh, my hero” you said a bit sarcastically tohim. “What should I do without you?”

“Maybe notgoing to a nice event with me?” he answered playfully and smirked at you. Thenboth of you started to laugh.

“You’re soa dork”

“Yeah, butI am your dork”

The daybefore the event come and Link and you travelled to castle town. You thought hewould show you some vendors and you could buy the outfit on your own. But hewanted to go with you shopping. First it was very cute of him. Then you realizedhe was quite popular in castle town and every vendor you meet said somethingabout a discount only for the hero ofhyrule and his beloved one.

What asharp move of him you had to admit.

And now youwere in a huge store with the fanciest and sparkling outfits you ever saw. Youfeel a bit small and poor only looking at them. You were a simple farm personand it was luck you both meet. In a lifetime you would never have the rupees tobuy it.

“It isreally okay if I choose one and you buy it?” you asked Link shyly. He onlywaved his hand and smiled to you.

“Only thebest for my best” Okay, sometimes he was too cheesy.

You wentthrough the outfits. So many colors, so many templates and so high prices. Youknew he have a huge amount of rupees. He worked for the royal family and hisrank in society was also high. But you feel a bit bad that he has to buy it foryou. The fact he often said it was okay for him didn’t change the subject.

It tooksome time when you finally found your favorite dress. It was a long dress inyour [f/c]. It had long sleeves, but they do show shoulders. And it showedmostly of your back. It didn’t have any specific template on it and despite thefact you didn’t have to watch on the prices, it was one of the cheapest in thestore.

It was loveon the first sight. But you stopped by the action of showing it to him. Itreally showed a lot of skin. It was a royalty event where people from thedifferent royal family come and interact. You feel a bit shady to be in thesame room as a farm girl with this dress.

“So Iguess…I need another one” you murmur to yourself and started your search again.However, the search ends fast and very frustrating to you. You didn’t find anyother dress which was more suitable for it and matched your taste. It was onlynatural for you to lock out in the changing cabin.

“I shouldhave said no to the invitation” you said in a sad voice and tried to calm youdown. The last thing you want was crying. Well, you locked up yourself up in acabin. Your image was ruined. How does it look when everyone get to know thegirlfriend of the hero locked herself up because she didn’t find a dress?

You didn’tknow how long you sit there. The knock on the door got you out of your state.

“Hey[Y/N]…Is everything okay?” you heard Link asked.

“Yeah…I-I’mfine” you lied and tried to sound confident.

He sigheddeeply.

“You know Ididn’t like it when you lie to me. And please don’t find any other excuses”

He did knowyou better as you expected.

“So tellme…what’s wrong? There must be a reason why you locked up in a cabin for 2hrs?”

Youbreathed in and out.

“I don’tfind a suitable dress” you started. “Everything I found were too slutty forthis event”

“What doyou mean being too slutty?”

“It showeda lot of skin. Too much for such an event and it would ruin your reputation”

“Can youshow it to me?”

You openedthe door. He had a worried expression on his face. He took you in his arms.

“I don’tthink the dress is too slutty. I think it is a bit the pressure you have onyour shoulders. Yeah, it is a high event. But my reputation doesn’t matter tome. I only want to enjoy the evening with you, so I want you to wear the dresswhich makes you happy”

Your griparound him got a bit stronger. Sometimes you could not believe to be by his side.He is such an angel to you. You questioned yourself sometimes if you deservedhim. But every time he said he could not believe you were by his side.

Both of youneeded each other. And that’s why you love each other deeply.

“Okay…” yousaid and took his hand. You arrived at the dress with him. He studied a bit,went around it and scans every inch.

“I don’tthink it is slutty” Link started to say. “I think it would be very lovely onyou”

Of courseyou blushed hardly by his words. He knew what to say to make you blush. He hada good knowledge of reading your mind and dealing with every problem.

At the endhe bought you the dress.

The nightof the event came faster than expected. You had a little room in the castleitself where Link and you prepared yourselves for the evening. At the momentyou sat before a mirror and tried to make your hair. You took your hair a bitup. It suited your dress very good. You wore a simple necklace and put on somesimple earrings. You had to admit you feel quite beautiful.

“You lookamazing” you heard from Link behind you and turned around. He wore his royalguard armor. But the emblem on his hat had a different color. It was yellowinstead of blue. The emblem itself was blue instead of yellow. It showed toeveryone he is the captain of the royal guard. It suited him very well.

“You’realso quite good-looking” you said. The message got him and he was a bitflustered.

“Well thenwe should head to the hall where the event is”

He walkedto you and offered his arm. “Mylady, would you please accompany me?”

You tookhis arm and placed a small kiss on his cheek. “With pleasure”

Both of youwent out of the room and the stairs to the entrance hall. You saw a lot ofguards around and of course a lot of royalty people. The guards greeted Linkwhen you both passed them. You could see how much respect they had for Link.

You twoarrived at the place where the event was. You knew from books how the roomlooks before everything got destroyed. Now in the new-form, it was veryimposing. The little details on the wall and windows, the templates and colorsand the furniture. Quite impressive. Well, it was the castle of hyrule.

You walkedinto the room and head straight to the buffet.

“Really,Link? The event just started and you’re hungry…again?” you asked him. Youremembered how he ate something while you changed in the dress. That was anhour ago. You could not believe howsomeone can eat all the time. But yeah, your boyfriend was a huge foodie.

He blushedby your comment. He scratched with his free hand his neck. A move he does whenhe was nervous or embarrassed.

Youchuckled a bit about his reaction. “Just promise me to don’t eat the whole onyour own. There are people who want to eat, too”

You twoparted ways. Link went to eat and you just stand there and watch the audience.Some talks, some walked around and some danced.

By thethought of dancing with Link you blushed a bit. It would be the first time tobe so near in the public. However, you knew the dance will not happen.

He saidsome time ago he was not a huge friend of dancing. With the champions ceremonythere was a banquet. And he said he had to dance with the female champions andwith the princess. It was highly awkward. It was a bit embarrassing when he danced with Mipha. She looked shy awayall the time so she forgets to dance and he walked over her feet. It washilarious with Urbosa. She was a gerudo and much taller than him. She coulddance but he said it was embarrassing for him to dance with someone who wastaller than him. And then the dance with the princess. Link said it was a timeshe didn’t like his presence. The dance was a good one. But both were stiffwhile dancing and everyone had their eyes on them. He didn’t feel well at thismoment.

“That’s why I will never dance again”

You sighedand walked back to him. He had a plate in his hands with every piece from thebuffet. That he didn’t gain weight made you jealousy.

“It tastedgood?”

“Yeah. Butthe pieces were so small”

“Link, itis normal for events the snacks are small. You were here to have a good timeand not to eat”

“Well…makessense” he said and continued eating.

“Oh Link,you’re there” you heard a female voice and turned to it. Your eyes widen whenyou saw the princess herself, Zelda. She wore an elegant blue dress. It remindsyou of the pictures you saw.

“And I see,you found the food” she chuckled while he finished eating.

“It tastesfantastic” he answered. She smiled, and then she looked at you. You feel a bitshy and you had the urge to hide behind him.

“So youmust be…[Y/N]. Link always talked about you” He did what?

“It’s niceto meet you, [Y/N]. I am princess Zelda, but you can call me just Zelda”

She tookyour hand and you shake it. You feel quite nervous.

“It’s alsoa pleasure for me”

To preventan awkward silence, you started a talk.

“So yousaid he talks about me?”

You feel alittle nudge from him. In the corner from your eye you see he was flustered.

Zeldanoticed it, too. And she could read your mind, so she continued.

“Since hemeet you. I remember quite well when he went to me for asking for advice how totalk properly with a woman”

You heardhow weakly he laughed about it. You looked to him how he scratched the back ofhis neck again. He also looked shy away. It was very cute to see.

“And I wantto thank you. Since he had you, he is a happy man. After ganon, I didn’t see ahint of happiness or confident in his face. Thank you for being by his side”

Now youwere flustered. Her words really touched you.

“So hope wecan talk later. See you two” With this, she walked away. Both of you standstill, flustered and blushing.

“I…I amhappy I meet…you” you said shyly and he looked at you.

“I amalso…very happy.” He said. “Didn’t I tell you before you looked beautiful inthis dress?”

He wantedto play his flustered side down.

“You have”you laughed. You lean a bit to him and place a short but soft kiss on his lips.

“Only ashort one?” he whined in your ears.

“Yes. Don’tbe so greedy” you answered and smiled.

More andmore people came around and talked to both of you. You were impressed how manypeople were interested in meeting you.

The lastone who approaches you was Sidon. He was the only one from all the royalty youknew personally. Link and you often went to the zora. It was like a second hometo both of you.

“Link,[Y/N]. Nice to see you here” he said. He smiled to you and you knew it washonest. He was your and Link’s best friend.

“It’s anamazing event, right?”

Both of younod. It would be perfect for you if Link would ask you to dance. But you didn’twant to be greedy and selfish.

Sidonstarted to talk to Link, but you didn’t follow it. Your glance was on thedancing floor. How elegant and impressive they danced, how close the coupleswere. Your heart would melt by doing the same with your boyfriend.

You didn’tnotice how Sidon saw your glance. He had a mischievous smirk on his face.

“Link, mydear friend” he started to say and now you watched to them. “Can I borrow yourbeloved one for a little dance with me?”

You blush abit by the request. It was not this you expected. But maybe the onlyopportunity to dance.

Link lookedto you and saw how desperate you were for dancing. And it was Sidon, his bestfriend. He could trust him. It didn’t change the fact he was a bit confused.

“Yeah,sure. Have fun, you two” he said. Sidon offered you his arm and you took himgladly. You went to the floor. He put his hand on your waist and the other toyour hand. You put your arm on his arm because he was too tall to reach hisshoulder. The other was in his other hand.

The musicchanged to the next song and both of you started to flow over the floor. Youfeel quite happy you could dance at least one time. Sidon was indeed a quitegood dancer.

You didn’tnotice how Link watched the scenario. So you didn’t see his serious face whileSidon spins you around the dancing floor.

The songends and Sidon brings you back to Link. “Thanks for the dance. You dance quitewell”

He wavedgoodbye and now you were next to Link. You saw his not amused face.

“Iseverything alright?” you asked and immediately his expression softened. “Don’tworry, everything alright”

You didn’tbelieve him.

“Can itbe…you’re a bit…jealous?”

You hit thenerves, he blushed hardly. “N-No way”

“Link…” yousing his name with your voice. “It it okay to admit it”

“Okay okay.Yes, I was jealous”

“Jealous ofSidon?”

“Jealoushow much fun you had with him dancing” he murmurs a bit and chew on the insideof his mouth.

You onlychuckled. You had an idea.

“You know…”you started. “The only reason he danced with me was that you didn’t dance withme”

You see howhis eyes widen. It seemed he realize something.

“Oh” heonly said. “I am so dumb sometimes”

You couldnot resist. “Sometimes?”

“Ey” hesaid a bit offended but then laughed. You laughed too. He really was your dork.

“So Mylady…”He started, bows a bit before you and offered his hand. ”Shall we dance?”

You smiledand took his hand. “With pleasure, my dear”

You bothwalked to the floor. He put his hand on your waist, you took your hand on hisshoulder. With the other you put them in his. The song starts and you bothdanced.

It waslighter as with Sidon. You were in the arms of your loved one.

He spinsyou around and you enjoyed every moment of it. He was a fantastic dancer and noone could read on his face he didn’t like dancing. You melted in his arms. Youignored the people who watched you.

The nextsong come, a slowly song. Immediately Link put his both hands on your waistwhile you laid yours on his chest. You also laid your head on his chest. Youtwo slowly moved to the music and enjoyed the intimacy of this dance. Everyonecould see how happy you were. How happy he was.

You weremeant for each other.

It was morea hug than a dance but you didn’t matter. You were by Link and this was theonly thing you wanted at the moment.

You hopedthis moment will not vanish.

He stoppedand you looked up to his face. He had a sweet and calm expression on his face.You would fall every time when you saw his deep blue eyes.

“I love you”he said in your ear. You blushed again.

“I loveyou, too…Link”

Then youtwo closed the distance between your faces and you kissed.

A long,romantic and meaningful kiss.

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a-functional-lowlife-blog · 5 years

Text

8.11.19

So I’ve never really utilized anything other than a diary to jot down my daily feels, but something tells me I might find some comfort knowing that nobody can sneak into my room and read my journal. Tumblr seems like a good enough void to dump these thoughts into. Maybe it’s my psyche craving a positive outlet.. Id rather this be private, but sometimes connections supposed to help, right? If topics of abuse, death, suicide, or depression trigger you, please do not continue reading. So I guess, let’s start from the top.

I’m 2X years old, & I have absolutely no clue what I’m doing with my life right now. I’m a gamer, & employed, But it’s not like I”m pursuing some great dream. I’m kind of coasting through life, trading experiences for fragments of myself. But I’m honestly rather content, at the moment. I make decent enough money. I can afford to shelter myself, feed myself, & entertain myself. So to some people, yeah it might look like i’ve had it pretty easy. In some ways, I have; in others, not really.

It was just me & my mom growing up. Dad wasn’t around, & i don’t really want to get into that right now. My mom did everything she could for me. And I, of course being a growing hormonal boy, never truly appreciated it until I got into the real world. Thanks mom. She low-key prepared me for almost anything. I graduated high school, no special titles or accolades, but I could hear her screaming well above the entire stadium of parents when they called my name. I hope I can make her that proud again someday. I haven’t seen her in almost 4 years. Life can be a bitch like that once you’re an actual adult.

Since graduating high school, I’ve fathered a child, a little girl, who continues to blow my mind every day, with her brains & beauty. Damn, my ugly mug made one amazing little girl. Everything I do, I do for her. Even when it doesn’t seem like it. The mother & I are still on fantastic terms, but we separated a couple years after the birth. It just didn’t work as a healthy relationship anymore, & our daughter deserved better than that.

After we parted ways, I got myself tangled up with a girl that, in hindsight, I should have never said hello to. Now don’t get me wrong, the first 2 years were truly magical. She was young, beautiful, petite body, alternative with piercings & tattoos. Which was basically me, young, rather handsome, fit body, alternative with piercings and tattoos. A match, it would seem, made in heaven. She made me feel alive again. She reinvigorated me to my soul, showed me new experiences I never could have imagined, or dared to do otherwise. I felt happy. Which for me, is a rather fleeting bird, one that’s typically driven away by the raven. It was just like a fairy-tale. We all know those aren’t real. I should have seen the warning signs. The “red flags” that everyone says I ignored. But red flags look like regular flags when looking through rose-tinted glass. If you’ve stumbled upon this by chance, & are triggered by abuse, or suicide, I suggest you stop reading now.

It started out with little things. Roast-like insults, but sometimes they hurt a little more than they should. Which, obviously, led my mind to tell me “stop being so sensitive.” I’d let it slide. As we approached the 2 year mark, it started getting nastier. Her patience with me was very thin. The smallest error, like I forgot to pick up soda on the way home from my 10 hour shift once, led to me being belittled with insults to my intelligence & even attacks on my dedication to her. It only got worse as time went on. I silently cried myself to sleep most nights. My self-esteem was in an entirely different dimension by this point. I’ve become completely submissive to her. I looked at myself in the mirror one night, after doing things that I regret doing, and being disgusted in myself for letting it get so bad. For never stepping back up & standing my ground. I got us through homelessness. I had helped her get help because she had a severe mental illness that I will not put here. Her every wish, within my power, was my command. Why should I tolerate being treated like something stuck to the bottom of her shoe when kindness didn’t suit her? So I did. That was the first time she hit me. Just once, open palmed to my left temple.

It didn’t stop. It got worse. I will not go into details, because almost 3 years later, I still panic when I try to think about those months. Most of my friends & family do not know how bad it got. And those that do, do not even know who she even was. It collapsed faster when I started to dissociate after multiple (thankfully) failed suicide attempts. I started cheating, trying to get her to leave me, since she wouldn’t allow me to leave her without threatening to kill herself. “You’re my soulmate, I won’t live without you.” She kept me in that state of submissive fear for another year, using the same lines. Using the same deflection tactics to make me question myself. All while calling me her “soul mate”. I hate that fucking word now.

But I did finally get the courage to leave. In the middle of the night, a train ride back to my hometown. She tried to work back into my life a few times over the next 2 years. I eventually stopped talking to her, because she would always try to convince me to come back to her, that it can be different, that she’s willing to start over. So I stopped talking to her last year. And now, I can’t anymore, because last month, she killed herself. I honestly never stopped loving her. I can feel the hole where her energy used to be, the bits she contributed to my soul, snuffed out.. I blame myself for her suicide. And I hate that I fell in love with such a beautiful, toxic soul.

We can skip over the few fling relationships I held while in my hometown, except for one girl, who I will forever thank for showing me what a true loving, healthy relationship, based on trust and open communication can actually be like. We got into it knowing we were on a time limit, because I was already in the process of saving up to move again, this time, 3,000 miles away. But we had good chemistry, and I think the relationship was the perfect amount of time for both of us. She’s a LoZ girl. Major fan. As in, owns every game, tons of merch, follows tons of streamers on Twitch who play Legend of Zelda, especially if it’s Ocarina of Time. Coastal gamer girl is probably the best description of her. She’s still one of my best friends, & I talk to her on occasion. She’s super happy, and living a rather adventurous life. I’m super happy for her.

Our fateful day came, and I had to move away. She comforted me during the entire packing process. Which literally filled 2 boxes I shipped to my new address, my military backpack, & a laptop case. It still resulted in 8 hours of back to back anxiety attacks. I only knew TWO people in the town where I was moving to. One of them, I had never physically met before in our entire 14 year friendship. So, rightfully, I was terrified to leave. I’d reconnected with old friends in my hometown. I’d met an amazing girl in my hometown. I’d landed a really fantastic job in the medical field in my hometown. What was I thinking?! Leave all of THIS?!

But I knew why. She knew why. Everyone in my life knew why. The answer was simple. Yeah, I had a good job, a good girl, & a relatively good life. But I wasn’t truly happy. In my soul. Just as I was in the states I’ve lived before. And that was okay. We had the perfect amount of happiness.

So here I am, in an undisclosed new location, three-thousand miles away from my hometown. And honestly, I’m happier here than I’ve ever been anywhere else. Do I see myself dying here? No, not really. But I could kick it here for a decade or so, if the fates allow my life that long? Sure. The best friend I’d never met before, is just as amazing in person. We play video games together now & then, and go out to the downtown bar scene sometimes for karaoke. There’s 3 roommates total. I enjoy being their roommate. Also, there’s 4 cats. who I absolutely love, and will contemplate posting their pictures here too, for memories sake.

I’ve made some really amazing friends, especially one girl in particular. She’s been very good to me, in many ways. Dinners, events, concerts, party weekend for my last birthday to pass. All while both of us just have a blast around each other. She’s helped me alot these last few months, everything from food to rent, while I struggled to find work, & get on my own two feet. I struggled for 5 months before I landed myself where I am now. So to celebrate, she & I went and got tattoos today.

I got a tattoo of the chemical structure of serotonin on my wrist. To remind myself to be happy, because I’ve already spent so much time being sad. And that I’m going to keep making myself happier, by staying true to myself, learning & growing from the events I’ve been through in my life, both good and bad. Creative, & destructive. Because it’s all molded me into who I am now.

So really without getting into childhood stories, high school shenanigans, & college hijinx, that’s the story of Z. A recent handle I’ve taken to lately, in case someone does decide to read this. I’d like to add to this little... off-site journal once a week, maybe more often.

That’s all I’ve got for today. I’m sufficiently stoned now, & would like to return to playing Apex Legends.

Signing off,

#journal #private #tw suicide #tw abuse #tw drugs #read at your own discretion #do not repost #venting

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